Roe Deer – answers

1. The male roe deer’s horns are called antlers, which are short, straight up and have no more than 3 points. Did you know that antlers only stay on for a year then fall off?  The males have to grow them back again each year.
2. The name for a young roe deer is a ‘kid’.  There are other species of deer, the young of which are called ‘fawns’ and still other species the young of which are known as ‘calves’.  It is believed that roe deer kids have a dappled coat to help them hide for the first 6 weeks.  As they grow older they become more like their mothers and develop a reddish brown coat in summer and a grey coat in winter.
3. This one is easy, they will eat almost anything that is a plant, including trees, roses, herbs, grass, ferns and conifers. Did you know that they eat almost constantly, but are most active at dawn and dusk.
4. A roe deer is silent most of the time but when alarmed, they make a barking noise like a dog.
5. A female roe deer is a ‘doe’
6. A male deer is a ‘buck’
7. In Britain there are around 6 species of deer that can be seen, of which the roe deer and the red deer are the only truly native species:
   • Red deer
   • Sika deer
   • Roe deer
   • Reeves’ muntjack deer
   • Chinese water deer

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Hope you enjoyed our little quiz, please tell everyone about it and if you have time, have a go at the other animal quizzes around the reserve.

You can find out lots more about this beautiful creature on the British Deer Society website.