Growth of European roe deer: Patterns and rates

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe the pattern and rates of growth of roe deer fawns up to the age of weaning. Eighteen fawns of Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) raised by their mothers in enclosures grew at decelerating rates after birth, with a monomolecular rather than sigmoid pattern. Bottle rearing modified profoundly the natural pattern of growth, but these fawns caught up with mother-reared fawns by weaning (about six months). There was no evidence for differential investment by the mothers in male and female offspring. Most mother-reared fawns showed an initial, near-linear phase in their first month (10/12 individuals). During this period milk provides all, or nearly all the nutrients; the rates of growth were high (145 g/day), and close to the value observed in a highly productive wild population. The decelerating rate of growth may be a consequence of allocation of resources to movement as these 'hider' young become more active; and the monomolecular pattern may be commoner among ungulates than is currently realised.