ROE DEER: EUROPE’S WHITETAIL
I magine a deer species that inhabits an entire continent. It can be found from the Arctic Circle to the subtropical shores of a warm sea, from high alpine to lowland swamps, in open plains to urban parks and gardens, and even in rocky semi-deserts.
Does that sound familiar? Only two deer species are so adaptable and widespread: the white-tailed deer and the roe deer.
SIMILARITIES
The roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) is to Europe what the whitetail is to North America. The similarities don’t stop at the vast range and adaptability. Roe deer are the backbone of the hunting community and hunting industry in Europe. The overall number of hunters in Europe is about the same as in North America, and almost every European hunter pursues roe deer. It’s the meat-and-potatoes game animal of the continent; the deer that fills freezers.
In Germany, where I live and do most of my hunting, the annual roe deer harvest has been slightly more than 1.2 million for the past decade. Harvest numbers are similar in other countries. Across Europe, hunters take several million roe deer every year. It takes lots
