44 



(2.) Capreolus caprea. Roe Deer. 



The presence of Roe Deer in Cumberland having been doubted 

 in some quarters, for lack of published information, it becomes 

 desirable to state that a limited number of Roe Deer are established 

 near Wigton, in the north of the county. These graceful little 

 deer wander through the largest of our border plantations, occasion- 

 ally making their appearance in new and unexpected localities. 

 Thus, in 1880, a male Roe, which had no doubted forded the Eden, 

 took up its residence in the Cotehill woods, where it was frequently 

 seen for two years, as reported by Mr. T. H. Horrocks and other 

 gentlemen. Ultimately it disappeared,— no one knew exactly 

 how, — but suspicion fell upon a local poacher who brought a Roe 

 into Carlisle about the time of its supposed decease. 



The resident Roes maintain their numbers steadily, but there is 

 no marked increase. The leaves of brambles form an important 

 part of their diet during the winter months. 



When visiting the haunts of the Roe on April 23rd, 1886, Mr. 

 Duckworth witnessed an interesting incident. On that day, a Roe 

 which had been reared as a pet by the keeper's children, but had 

 disappeared for a period of eight or nine months, returned to her 

 early home. The school children gathered eagerly around their 

 lost favourite, caressing her and hastening to decorate her slight 

 neck with the insignia of a blue ribbon. The wilder mate, which 

 had accompanied the truant to her early asylum, kept watch in a 

 covert two hundred yards distant, awaiting the return of his partner 

 with manifest concern. 



SUMMARY. 



The continued frost of the spring of i886, and the heavy fall of 

 snow in May inflicted grievous losses upon the Red Deer ( Cervus 

 elaphus) of Martindale, and some years must elapse before the 

 mischief can be repaired. 



One or two specimens of the Pine Marten (Maries abietuvt,) 

 were recorded as killed in the Lake district during the year. 



The occurrence of a dog Badger, weighing eighteen pounds, at 

 Thirlmere, when considered with other evidence, militates against 

 the published opinion of the late Mr. W. Dickinson, F.L.S., that 

 the Badger became extinct in the Lake District at the beginning of 

 the present century. 



