2IO 



AUTUMN AND WINTER 



ROE DOE 



of the year ; and the new pair are clean of velvet in 



April. Unlike the males of the other species, the roe- 

 buck keeps company with the doe 

 throughout the winter ; but though he 

 is sometimes supposed to be strictly 

 monogamous, his fidelity is not quite 

 so unwavering, Sometimes accom- 

 panied by a fawn or two, a pair of 

 roes often haunt the same tract of 

 woods through the whole winter 

 season ; they usually form no such 

 herds or parties of the separate sexes 

 as are conspicuous in the case of 

 the larger deer. When roes pack, 

 it is a sign of very hard weather. 



As spring comes on, the bucks tend to wander away from 



the does, often seeking higher ground. The young 



are born early in June, one or two 



in a family. The timid doe shows 



the usual maternal courage at this 



season, and will sometimes attack a 



human trespasser in the thicket 



where the fawns lie, or any four- 



footed enemy such as a dog or a fox. 



Foxes are the chief enemies of the 



roe ; but in some parts of Scotland 



the fawns are now and then seized 



by the golden eagle. In the midst 



of the concealing brushwood the 



doe sometimes makes a soft bed for 



the fawns, and covers them with 



moss and plucked grass when she 



leaves them. The rutting season 



ROEBUCK 



