THE ROE-DEER, OR THE ROEBUCK. 45 



life, only those of the neck (sometimes) recurring 

 with the winter coat. Generally the little creature 

 remains with its mother till the next fawn is born 

 a year later, and may even accompany her after 

 that, though it does so uninvited. Hence the idea 

 that milord sometimes has two wives may arise 

 from his being thus accompanied by two does, one 

 his wife and the other her fawn. 



Normally the doe is hornless, the exceptions 

 being occasional barren specimens. I have never 

 seen a horned doe accompanied by a fawn, nor 

 have I ever met any one who has. 



FOOD. 



The roe-deer is a woodland feeder. It does not 

 appear to possess the partiality of the fallow for 

 horse-chestnuts, nor to my knowledge does it feed 

 to any extent on heather. I have often found 

 signs of roe having scratched away the leaves in 

 pursuit of some favourite root or fungus, which 

 possibly are eaten medicinally. It lives chiefly 

 on foliage of various kinds, and is an expert at 

 stripping the lower branches. It can reach a 

 surprising height by standing upright on its hind- 

 legs, supporting itself against the trunk or some 

 convenient limb by its forelegs. I have seen a 

 roe stand upright on its hind-legs without any 

 support at all, and it is a very pretty sight to see 

 a herd feeding thus. The giant moose and the 

 giraffe straddle down saplings between their fore- 

 legs to feed on the topmost and tenderest shoots, 

 and it is interesting to note that these animals 

 have developed accordingly, very high in the fore- 

 legs, and carrying their weight well over the 

 fo'c'sle. 



The roe- deer has developed an extraordinary 



