Roe feed very close, often only covering a few yards in a day’s grazing, so
that woods which contain a good supply of grass, shrubs, and trees on which they
browse, will often hold a very large stock. In one day’s«;' stalking at Cawdor,
Nairnshire, I have counted as many as 70 Roe, while the following are accurate
records of the numbers killed in certain Highland woods;, in a day's ■ driving:
Farley Wood, Beaufort, 65; Altnacliach and Boblainey, Beaufort, 35; Westerton
Wood, Forres, 40; Foulis Wester, Perth, 33; Rohallion, Perth, 25. At Cawdor
I once saw six bucks all close together, chasing in and out of the ‘ rings.’
In the heavily wooded parts of Scotland, where there is no open forest
ground, Roe stay in the covers all the year round and only come out to graze in
the open glades at dawn and sunset. In Northern Inverness and Ross many of
the best woods for Roe abut on the open Deer forests and sheep grounds, and to
these open spaces both bucks and non-breeding does rdsort during the warmer
months of summer, when the flies and midges have rendered life insupportable
in the low woods. In August and September it is not uncommon to come across
a Roe dose to the summit of the highest mountains, and here they often stay
with the red deer until the first chills of autumn drive them down to the woods.
They eat quantities of leaves of beech, holly, birch, rowan, and the young
shoots of bramble, heather, spruce, oak. They do not despise growing corn,
turnips, clover, hips and haws, and certain berries. I have seen them nibbling
mosses, bracken, blaeberry and raspberry foliage, and they do some damage to
corn by lying in it. Certain fungi also furnish part of their diet
The movements of the Roe are very graceful; it springs over the high
heather and bracken in a series of bounds. On flat ground, or when threading
their passes, they advance with an easy canter with the head held high;
occasionally they trot, but only on very easy ground, and they soon subside into
a walk. When pursued they stop frequently, listen, and look back, and are at all
times loth to leave a favourite cover. A Slow following hound will cause Roe to
circle in a wood for hours, and the hunter, knowing this, takes advantage and
intercepts the Deer.
Although Roe are very cow-hocked behind, there is a great deal of grace and
elegance about all their attitudes. As they move, feeding, each leg is delicately
lifted and placed on the ground, but when in danger, their movements are quick
and cautious. When frightened1 or scared from thick cover they plunge forward
1 I have twice seen an old Roebuck that was feeding in semi-open ground drop in his tracks like a rabbit when he
heard a stick crack. After a short period of lying low he rose, looked cautiously round, and resumed his feeding.
VOL. III.