Photo by the Duchess of Bedford] [Woburn Abbey.
PÈRE DAVID'S DEER.
Nineteen of these deer are at Woburn Abbey; three are at Berlin. It is believed that these are the only deer of this species in existence.
Roe have a curious trick of chasing one another in play, and certain roe-rings in the woods near Cawdor Castle, according to Mr. Millais, demonstrate the fact that for ages the deer have been in the habit of disporting themselves in these strange circles over the same pieces of ground. The fact is very singular. "These curious circles are most used in early summer; and Sutherland, the head keeper, tells me," says Mr. Millais, "that hardly a morning passes without there being one or two roe playing in the rings, and sometimes there is quite a party of them." Roe feed chiefly on grass; they will eat also rowan (mountain-ash) berries, of which they are especially fond, as well as turnips, grain, heather tops, and various other roots and plants. Certain fungi, to which they are partial, they take much pains to dig out with their sharp hoofs. "A roebuck that I once kept," says Mr. Millais, "was a good Scotchman, though he had a beastly temper, for he liked nothing so much as oatmeal porridge." Roe make delightful pets, but the bucks are not to be trusted after the third year. One of these animals, supposed to be tame, has been known to kill a lad. In Scotland and on the Continent roe deer are usually killed by driving, and large bags are often made. Even within recent times, as many as sixty-five roebucks and thirteen hinds have been shot at Beaufort, Lord Lovat's place in Inverness-shire, during a day's driving. Shot-guns are employed for this kind of sport. Stalking the roe is not so much pursued in Scotland as it might be. It is a first-rate and most interesting form of sport, and in certain districts the rifle might very well be substituted for the shot-gun. "Roe-stalking," says Mr. Millais, "possesses many charms of its own. In the first place, you can enjoy it at a season when there is no other shooting going on; secondly, it takes you out in the early morning, when all nature is full of life and beauty, and before the heat of the day commences; and, thirdly, where the chase of the animal is systematically conducted, as with red deer, the nature of the sport is everything that can be desired. I would therefore put forward a plea that tenants and owners of part-wood, part-forest lands in Argyll, Inverness, Ross, and Aberdeen should turn their attention to stalking the roe in preference to killing them during the usual winter wood-shoots." Roe deer are exceedingly abundant in the great forest regions of Germany and Austria-Hungary. In Austria alone, not including Hungary, during the year 1892, no less than 68,110 of these beautiful little deer were shot on various estates.
Photo by the Duchess of Bedford] [Woburn Abbey.
GROUP OF VIRGINIAN DEER (TWO BUCKS, FOUR DOES).
These are the common deer of the Eastern United States.
The Siberian Roe, found from the mountains of the Altai and Turkestan to Siberia, is a somewhat larger species than its European cousin, measuring from 28 to 34 inches at the shoulder. The antlers are also larger, extending to as much as 16 and even 18 inches in measurement. As beseems its habitat, the coat of this species is also thicker and rougher than is the case with the European roe. Mr. Lydekker gives some interesting particulars regarding this animal: "When the snows of November fall, the roe themselves commence to collect in herds, which may number from 300 to 500 head, and soon after migrate southwards into Manchuria, whence they return about the end of March or beginning of April. On the Ussuri, which they must cross, they are at this season slaughtered in thousands by the hunters, without regard to age or sex."
One other species, the Manchurian Roe, found chiefly in mountainous habitats, whence it never descends, should be noted. This is a smaller deer than the Siberian roe, and approximates in size and length of horn to the European race.