English: Roe Deer; French: Chevreuil; Albanian: Kaproll ëa; Bulgarian: Sarna; Chinese: Pao; Croatian: Srna; Dutch: Ree; Danish: Radyr; Estonian: Metskits; Finnish: Metsäkauris; Greek: Zarkadi; Iranian: Shuka; Italian: Capriola; Hungarian: Öz; Korean: Noru; Lettish: Platradzis, Alnis; Lithuanian: Stirna; Mongol: Bor Göröös; Montenigrin: Srna; Norwegian: Radyr; Polish: Sarna; Portuguese: Corco; Rumanian: Caprior; Russian: Kossula; Serb: Srna; Slovak: Srncia zver; Slovenian: Srnjad; Spanish: Corzo; Swedish: Radjur; Turkish: Karaca.
Former distribution: From England and Scotland to Scandinavia, Finland. South to Spain and Portugal, east from central Europe, Italy to Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan and Syria, Iran, to central USSR, and northern Caucasia.
Present distribution: England and Scotland, northern, central and southern Europe (not in Corsica and Sardinia). East to Finland, south to Greece, Turkey, central USSR, and northern Caucasia (not in Ireland and Iceland).
Behaviour: Preferred habitat: woodland edges, in both mixed and deciduous forests with good cover; also marsh and moorland – more or less all types of landscape, even in the midst of human settlements. Activity predominantly at twilight and nocturnal, so metimes diurnal; they live singly, in pairs, or in small groups browsing leaves, herbs, grasses, fungi, forest and field fruits. Predators include wolves, lynxes, dogs.
Population status: Rare in Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Iran and Greece; stable in all other regions.
Estimated numbers acc. to CIC Symposium, Altenfelden, 1986: Belgium: 22 856; FRG: 1 700 000; Bulgaria: 118 000; Denmark: 140 000; United Kingdom: 300 000; Finland: 300-400 (1986); France: 270 000; Greece: no records; Italy:120 000 (northern Italy 110 000; central Italy: 9000, Calabria 500; Apulia 150); Yugoslavia: 263 000; Luxembourg: 13 000; Norway: 38 000 (1979); The Netherlands: 25 000; Austria: 1 000 000; Poland: 460 000; Portugal: no records; Romania: 293 000; Sweden: 500 000; Alands-Islands: 5000-6000; Switzerland: 102 000; Spain: 19 000; CSSR: 294 000; Hungary: 185 000; USSR: 720 000.
Brief notes:
Body weight: 20-35 kg
Head and body length: 95-105 cm
Tail length: 3-5 cm
Shoulder height: 60-75 cm
Gestation period: 294 days
Maximum age: Up to 17 years
Trophy; SCI: 59 2/8 score, 1955 Hungary, M.O. SCHROEDER; average 30 score. CIC: 246.90, 1980 Sweden, Skane, C.G. STJERNSWÄRD; average 105 points.
Hunting methods: Stalking, from carriage, driving, from a hide and high seat, with dogs.
Subspecies: 3, acc. to HARRISON (1968)
1. Capreolus c. capreolus As species. Europe.
2. Capreolus c. coxi Kurdestan in Iraq. Rare.
3. Capreolus c. armenius Turkey. Rare.
Remarks: The validity of these Subspecies is very doubtful; also the Subspecies listed by LEHMANN (1960) as transsylvanicus, canus and whittali are not well documented.
