Willem is a wildlife artist based in South Africa. He says "My aim is simply to express the beauty and wonder that is in Nature, and to heighten people's appreciation of plants, animals and the wilderness. Not everything I paint is African! Though I've never been there, I'm also fascinated by Asia and I've done paintings of Asian rhinos and birds as well. I may in future do some of European, Australian and American species too. I'm fascinated by wild things from all over the world! I mainly paint in watercolours. . . but actually many media including 'digital' paintings with the computer!"

We're back in the present day, witnessing a Roe Deer, Capreolus capreolus. The double-barrelled scientific name means 'little goat little goat'. And as you will (I hope) know by now, this is indeed a deer, a whole different family (the Cervidae) from that of the goats and their kin (the Bovidae). The scientific name always makes me think of the Afrikaans word 'Kaperjol/Kapriol' which means 'a playful bounding about', which goes back to the Old French 'capriole' as does the English word 'caper'. So this must be a happy little deer! The English 'roe' goes back to Old Germanic, as does the Afrikaans (and Dutch) 'ree' and modern German 'Reh'. It may mean a spotted or striped animal, although only the young fawns actually have spots. Another English name for the species is 'Roebuck'.

Let's consider our little roe in the context of the deer, ancient and modern, that I've been covering so far. It has antlers on the small side. Most roe deer only have two points per antler, but some have three, as portrayed here, and some even more. The roe is closely related to the Chinese Water Deer which has no antlers at all, but amazingly, also to the Moose, and reindeer/caribou, which have huge antlers! Its likely ancestor was a deer of the genus Procapreolus.

The roe itself is a thoroughly modern and very successful deer. It occurs in temperate forest, shrubland and grassland in most of Europe and in western Asia. It also frequents agricultural land. It feeds on grasses, leaves, shoots, berries and other fruits, and seeds. With a small stomach and rapid digestion, it needs to feed often. It is well-adapted to areas in transition, such as forest that has been cleared or burned and is regenerating. It only needs some shelter to retreat to if threatened. Roe usually occur singularly, sometimes in family groups, rarely congregating in larger groups of up to 90 members. It is on the small side, mostly about 63-67 cm/25"-26" at the shoulder, and 15-35 kg/33-77 lbs in weight. In Russia and Kazakhstan some are larger, up to 85 cm/33" at the shoulder and 60 kg/132 lbs in weight. They intergrade from there on eastwards with the Siberian Roe Deer, Capreolus pygargus ('white-rumped little goat') which is larger with more elaborate antlers. There is a broad zone of frequent hybridization between the two species. The roe has a reddish brown coat colour, with white and black markings on the muzzle. It has virtually no tail, but a dashing white patch on its backside which likely is a visual signal when it is running. The antlers stand upright on the head and are usually about 20-25 cm/8"-10" in length. Apart from the two or more prongs, they are decorated by lengthwise grooves and little bumps or outgrowths. Only the male has the antlers. Like most deer, the antlers are shed each year, but the male immediately starts growing a new pair, unlike in other deer where there's a longer period of antlerlessness before the new ones emerge.

Roe are very fertile and under optimal conditions can rapidly multiply in numbers. The rutting season is in July and August, the northern summer. The doe purposefully goes out to attract a buck, gaining his attention by making a whining 'pheep'-sound. Males clash with each other, sometimes fighting with their antlers to establish territory and dominance. They grow thick skin over their heads, necks and forequarters to protect them during fights. A popular male can mate with several females. Males chasing females through the forest trample the undergrowth in figure eight patterns called 'roe rings'. A male may mount a female many times over a period of several hours. After mating, the female retains the fertilized egg in her womb for four or five months before it implants, so that the fawns are born the next year, usually from April to July. She typically gives birth to twins, a male and a female fawn. The white spots on the fawns provide camouflage in the dappled undergrowth or long grass where they hide as their mom goes out to feed each day. For about three months, she returns to them daily to suckle them. Female roe deer attain sexual maturity at six months, males by the age of one year. But due to competition, most males only start actually breeding at the age of three. Under good conditions, roe can live to the age of 20 years.

Roe are abundant today, in spite of being heavily hunted by humans. In wild nature, they're preyed upon by leopards, wolves, lynxes and foxes. They're not at all threatened with extinction.

Willem

25.12.23 Front Page

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