Roe Deer

Our native Roe Deer are amongst some of the most beautiful and graceful deer on the planet. they feed at dusk and dawn mostly and often through the cover of darkness. They have long since understood the danger of man. The roe fawn is the one loving caricatured in Bambi. The majestic roe has been here since before the Mesolithic period but forest clearance and over hunting saw them become extinct here by the 18th Century but remained in woodland patches in Scotland. Hunters turned to foxes and several reintroduction by the victorians and an increase in woodland and forest planting in the 20th century has meant that roe deer have become widespread. READ MORE



Muntjacs are stocky short deer who were introduced to the UK recently by Woburn Park. They prefer to stay in cover near hedges or bushes.

Muntjac deer were introduced here from China to Woburn Park in Bedfordshire in the early 20th century. Escapes from Woburn, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire lead to feral populations establishing this has led to a rapid spread across England and Wales. READ MORE



Fallow deer are the largest of the three. They were introduced by the Normans in the 10th century. Fallow deer were a prized as ornamental species and were protected in Royal Hunting "Forests" for royal sport. During Mediaeval times many deer parks formed for hunting that held fallow deer were established and these have given rise to the free-living populations in Britain today. 



The tiny fawns seen here can arrive with us for many reasons. At a few hours old just like bambi they can stand and run and eat. They are dependant on their mothers for milk in the early stages and this is essential for their rapid growth. they are our largest Uk mammal and take a lot of care. roes leave their tiny fawns alone for many hours while they feed while the muntjacs and the fallows stay with their mum. consequently many roes are needlessly rescued while they wait for their mum. solitary fallow and munjac fawns are less common. Deer routinely get killed on roads, chased and killed by dog and hunted by man and dogs all these factors lead to orphan and injured deer.

We would recommend any fawn spotted alone should be left and reported to us for us to ascertain if it is really alone.


Deer have amazing hearing and mum will be well hidden by the time the human arrive. Deer cannot carry or remove their young to safely and may feel that leaving them alone is the best course of action.


Tags: fallow, read, hunting, introduced, stay, woburn, 20th, woodland, killed, muntjacs, century, fawns, deer
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