The roe deer doe may have a fawn hidden nearby.
Photo: Tarmo Mikussaar
Posted by the Animal of the Year Team  09.06.2017

It is the time when on moving around in nature you may come across a spotted roe deer fawn lying on the ground. It is the great secret of the roe deer doe, and it is visited and fed a couple of times a day. Since the fawn has no smell, foxes, dogs and other predators cannot find it. Such a creature must not be caressed, lifted up or taken along. A human-smelling fawn will probably be abandoned. It is sensible to leave quietly the same way as you came.  Evidently the worried adult keeps an eye on us from a distance.

Vahur Sepp

The boar lazes. The dried tree is a very pleasant place for him, here he can scratch himself, get rid of the old fur and leave his scent marks. The boar enjoys all these activities.
Trail camera video assembled by  Kalle Pihelgas

Posted by the Team of the Animal of the Year 09.05.2017

Roe bucks and one doe in mid-April 2017.The antlers of one buck is already bare. The furs are still winter-coloured and fit very well into the bare spring landscape.

The winter which fortunately was easy to bear for the roe deer has ended and the animals are in good condition. Springtime activities begin. The bucks need to put their recently ready antlers into working order and all roe deer regardless of sex must change the winter outfit to a summertime one.

A view of roe deer from above too. In Tarmo Mikussaare’s drone photo we see a roe deer flock in a sparse forest. Just like this they spend their time together in winter and don’t move around very much. Particularly when there is plenty of food nearby. In that case the roe deer don’t move at all! 

Among the large game animals the roe deer is the most frequent victim in traffic in Estonia. Car drivers should be particularly attentive in the Tiskre area and around the Jägala river bridge where a road with dense traffic and a traditional roe deer path coincide.
Photo: Tarmo Mikussaar

Although Estonia has more nature and a smaller population density in comparison to other European countries people still will not keep in one place but move around. Neither do the wild animals stay in one place but wander around, among them the roe deer, among the most numerous in Estonia. They move between summer and winter areas, in search of food, in the heat period, and on widening their habitats as well as on becoming independent. So the paths of roe deer and humans cross quite often and when a human with a motor vehicle and a roe deer on foot meet it is clear that due to the different speeds someone will obviously be hurt.

We see the white rump patches only in winter, in summer these hairs are brown. Photo: Tarmo Mikussaar

In  the  "Osoon" programme  in ETV on Monday renowned wildlife photographer Remo Savisaar talked about the making of his best roe deer photos.

With hunter Priit Vahtramäe"Osoon" also visited the salt lick block in the place from where we soon should see the first images from the roe deer online camera.