European Roe Deer - Europe | Online Record Book Preview

Cervus elaphus hippelaphus

DESCRIPTION The largest of all red deer, with the finest specimens as regards weight and quality of antlers coming from Poland, Hungary, Romania and the former Yugoslavia. Stags weighing 600-660 pounds (272-300 kg) have been taken, as have antlers with 20 or more points and weighing more than 22 pounds (10 kg) including the frontal bone, or 26 pounds (12 kg) on the cleaned skull. The antlers are usually darker than those from other red deer.

DISTRIBUTION Mainland Europe (except for Scandinavia and the Iberian Peninsula) as far east as the Crimean Peninsula and southern Russia. Also in England and Ireland, and in Scotland south of a line between Glasgow and Edinburgh. (The latter are classified as Scottish red deer by biologists, but are treated here as European red deer-the larger form-because of the possibility of hybridization.) European red deer have also been introduced in several hunting reserves in areas of European Russia where they are not native.

REMARKS For the most memorable experience, the sportsman should probably make his hunt in the mountains of eastern Europe during the roar. If all goes well, he could find himself surrounded by roaring stags that are some of the finest in the world, and see antlers that are unaffordable for most sportsmen.

TAXONOMIC NOTES Includes the montanus race from eastern Europe, which some authorities consider a separate subspecies, and brauneri from Crimea, which some regard as intermediate between the European hippelaphus and the Mideastern maral.