70 MOUNTAIN AND MOORLAND 



Very different from any of the forms we have men- 

 tioned is the little Roe Deer (Capreolus caprea), which 

 is widely distributed in Europe and Western Asia. It 

 is still common in Scotland and occurs in a few parts 

 of England a forest-loving deer. The full-grown 

 buck measures only about two feet high at the 

 withers; the doe is still smaller. The general colour 

 is reddish-brown in summer and yellowish-grey in 

 winter, the doe lighter than the buck. There is a 

 large white patch on the rump, which may help the 

 fawns to follow their mother. The antlers are small, 

 rugged, and comparatively simple, having in most 

 cases only three tines. 



The Roe Deer is fond of Conifer plantations and 

 of glens with copses of birch and hazel. It is not 

 gregarious, but goes in pairs or in small parties. The 

 males and females remain together throughout the 

 year. Two fawns are usually born at a time, in May 

 or June, and they show, like many young Deer, several 

 longitudinal rows of spots. They remain with their 

 parents till winter comes, and are very carefully 

 looked after. Roe Deer usually feed in the morning 

 and evening, and lie hidden among heather and 

 bracken throughout the day, chewing the cud. 



The cud-chewing of Ruminants e.g., cattle, sheep, 

 and deer is a habit as remarkable as it is familiar, 

 (i) The grass and herbage is hastily swallowed, per- 

 haps because of the ancient necessity for restricting 

 exposure to the attacks of Carnivores. (2) It passes 

 down the gullet into the first chamber of the stomach, 

 the large paunch, the internal surface of which is like 

 velvet pile. (3) An overflow of the more fluid 

 material may pass into the second chamber, the 



