DEER BEHAVIOUR
An introduction to understanding deer behaviour and how to succeed with deer photography
The objective of this blog series on deer photography is to enable fellow wildlife photographers to work closely with wild deer in the field by sharing my hard-earned experience and expertise of deer behaviour, deer senses and habituation.
My first in-depth photographic study enabled me to get an insight into the secret world of the Roe deer. A subject often overlooked by wildlife photographers due to their timid nature, I knew that to be successful photographing these wild deer I would need to understand deer behaviour.
Understanding the subtleties of deer behaviour allowed me to get a deeper insight into my subject. It allowed me to photograph their natural behaviour without causing them disturbance.
Roe deer behaviour is fascinating to observe and photograph throughout the year:
- Winter is the best time to see Roe deer social dynamics at play when family members feed together.
- Spring sees a peak of territorial behaviour. Roe bucks establish old tenures. Females evict last year’s young. Juveniles are on the move.
- Summer is a unique event in the deer calendar, the Roe deer’s annual rut offers a chance to document their courtship rituals.
- Autumn provides an opportunity to see the summer’s fawns as they emerge from hiding and feed with their mother.
Understanding their behaviour will enable you to explore the secret life of deer. In doing so, you will be able to capture unique moments.
COMMUNICATION
Vocalisation: Deer are vocal animals. Deer use vocalisation for social contact, mother-young interactions, encounters with predators and breeding. All species of deer found in Britain make loud, harsh barking calls when they detect potential danger. The acoustics of the bark conveys information on their gender, age and identity.
Scent: Deer’s keen sense of smell is important for scent communication with other deer. Scraping and rubbing by deer is one way for them convey scent communication with other deer. The male performs these types of scent marking during the territorial season.
Visual signals: Deer have a limited ability to show facial expressions beyond opening the mouth. Deer perform postures to send a variety of signals about their intentions, social status, mating receptiveness and emotional state.
Shoot List Suggestions
- Barking: try to capture the breath on a cold morning backlit by sunrise or get a well lit view of the tongue and teeth as the deer barks.
- Scraping or rubbing: capture the moment when a deer marks its territory.
- Postures: study the body language of deer. Capture the positions they adopt to communicate dominance, aggression, submission, stress and alarm. Tip: pay attention to how they move their neck, head, antlers, ears and legs.
FEEDING
Depending on the weather and season, Roe deer feed throughout the 24 hours, but are most active at dusk and dawn.
Roe deer usually feed within a few hundred metres of lying up areas. Should the animals feel secure then it is common for them to lie where they have fed.
Roe deer are browsers: they selectively feed on herbaceous flowering plants and parts of woody plants such as leaves, buds and twigs. Whereas Red deer graze mainly on grasses.
Shoot List Suggestions
- Browsing: try to photograph the different kinds of plants that your local deer selectively feed on. This will depend on location, habitat as well as season. Either photograph them in the act of feeding or show the signs of feeding.
- Ruminating: capture the relaxed attitude of a deer lying down to chew the cud. Even when they appear relaxed, they are alert to possible dangers so try not to disturb them.
TERRITORIAL BEHAVIOUR
Adult male and female Roe deer live in the same area all year. They are bound to a home range for as long as they live.
Male Roe deer are territorial from early spring to late summer with a territory size of no more than 60 hectare.
Female Roe deer evict the previous year’s fawns from their home range. This is in readiness to give birth to the current year’s offspring. This seasonal intolerance is like territorial behaviour.
During dispersal young females usually establish ranges close to their mothers. Juvenile males disperse further afield to colonise unoccupied areas. Otherwise it will find marginal areas or try to co-exist with territory holders.
When a home range or territory becomes vacant there is often rapid occupation by another Roe.
Shoot List Suggestions
- Establishing territory: be aware of dominance displays intended as acts of intimidation. Examples include erect posture, facing opponent and supplanting.
- Defending territory: pay attention to threats that signal readiness to attack. Examples include staring, charging at an inferior opponent, chasing a fleeing opponent.
- Maintaining territory: watch out for postures and actions advertising social status. Examples include scent marking, standing in a conspicuous place, chasing and driving away males.
- Dispersal: look for submissive displays by juveniles to appease aggressive behaviour of adults. Examples include active avoidance including turning tail, and looking away or moving out of the way.
SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
Buck – doe relationship: the basis for a male-female relationship remains a mystery. It could be favourable territory or mutual attraction.
Family unit: after the rut the family usually moves and lies as a unit. The winter group of doe and fawns is the epitome of Roe deer social life. Yearlings will also join as will a mature buck. They act independently not as a herd. Group members come and go as they please.
Adult – juvenile relationship: after a year of maternal care the females oust their offspring in spring.
Relationship between juveniles: many young Roe wander far afield seeking a favourable place to live. Roe will often congregate in an area not dominated by territorial bucks or does (a “coffee bar”).
Shoot List Suggestions
- Family group: be aware of displays of affiliation or affection such as mutual grooming.
- Adult buck to young buck relations: pay attention to aggressive behaviour. Bucks can be aggressive to other males for much of the year. Bucks fray and scent mark, scrape, stamp with forefeet, threaten and chase.
- Adult buck relations: watch out for fighting. Fighting occurs either during the peak of establishing territory in spring or during the rut in summer. Most aggressive interactions end with low levels of escalation. Physical contact occurs in fights between two territorial bucks.
- Juvenile relationships: look for playful behaviour. One of the most enchanting aspects of Roe behaviour is their playfulness. I’ve seen yearlings prance and whirl around, as if seized by an overwhelming desire to express delight in their free spirit.
BREEDING
Female behaviour: a doe can go into oestrous any day during the breeding season. The doe has a short period of receptivity: up to 48 hours. Female Roe deer are unique in choosing their mates. The doe will even take short excursions to visit neighbouring male territories to find a mate.
Male behaviour: Males usually compete to establish and defend the best territories. Good territory provides access to females, food and cover. Territoriality is a “low-risk, low-gain” breeding strategy. Bucks follow an “always stay” approach to gain the benefits of site familiarity.
Courtship: The male approaches the female with neck and chin outstretched. The female urinates and the male responds with a flehmen grimace after sampling the female’s urine. The female entices the male to chase and the male follows the female closely. The female may respond to the interest of a male playfully or display token avoidance. When the female is ready to copulate, she will stand motionless while the (exhausted) male mounts.
Shoot List Suggestions
- Male approaches females with outstretched neck and chin.
- Flehmen grimace by male.
- Male chases female in early stages of courtship.
- Male follows female closely.
- Female responds playfully.
