One of the most graceful and charming animals you’ll find wandering the forests and fields of Europe and parts of Asia. Small, delicate, and quick on their feet, these deer have a soft reddish-brown coat in the summer that turns greyish in winter, helping them blend perfectly into their surroundings year-round. With their big dark eyes, alert ears, and a white rump patch that flashes when they run, roe deer almost seem like creatures straight out of a fairytale — and in many ways, they are!
One of the coolest things about roe deer is how perfectly adapted they are to a wide range of habitats. You can find them everywhere, from thick forests and open grasslands to farmland edges and even near quiet villages. They’re mostly solitary outside of the breeding season, slipping quietly through the landscape at dawn and dusk. Males, called bucks, grow short but sharp antlers, shedding and regrowing them every year, and during mating season they can be surprisingly bold, chasing each other in tight, fast circles called “roe rings”!
Nature also gave roe deer one of its most amazing tricks: delayed implantation. After mating in the summer, roe deer pause the pregnancy, with the fertilized egg waiting quietly for months. The embryo only starts growing in winter, allowing the fawns to be born in late spring — when food is plentiful and the weather is gentle. The newborn fawns are tiny, speckled with white spots for camouflage, and spend their first few weeks hidden in tall grass while their mothers forage nearby.
Distribution
Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia And Herz.
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czechia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Hungary
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Official estimate
Italy
Latvia
Lebanon
Official estimate
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands
North Macedonia
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
San Marino
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Turkey
Ukraine
United KingdomAnything we've missed?
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Terrestrial / Aquatic
Altricial / Precocial
Polygamous / Monogamous
Dimorphic (size) / Monomorphic
Active: Diurnal / Nocturnal
Social behavior: Solitary / Pack / Herd
Diet: Carnivore / Herbivore / Omnivore / Piscivorous / Insectivore
Migratory: Yes / No
Domesticated: Yes / No
Dangerous: Yes / No
