使用者:Kivary/roedeer

西方狍
雄性及雌性的西方狍
保護狀況
無危（IUCN 3.1）
科學分類
界：	動物界 Animalia
門：	脊索動物門 Chordata
綱：	哺乳綱 Mammalia
目：	偶蹄目 Artiodactyla
科：	鹿科 Cervidae
屬：	狍屬 Capreolus
種：	西方狍 C. capreolus
二名法
Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758)
西方狍之分佈範圍

西方狍（Capreolus capreolus）是一種分佈於歐洲、裏海及安那托利亞的鹿，故被命名為西方狍。該物種有一種名叫東方狍（Capreolus pygargus）的近親，主要分佈於中東、中國及西伯利亞等地方。為夜行性動物，主要進食果實等食物為生。The two species meet at the Caucasus Mountains, with the European species occupying the southern flank of the mountain ranges and adjacent Asia Minor and the Siberian species occupying the northern flank of the mountain ranges. Within Europe, the European Roe Deer occurs in most areas, with the exception of northernmost Scandinavia (north of Narvik) and some of the islands, notably Iceland, Ireland, and the Mediterranean Sea islands; in the Mediterranean region it is largely confined to mountainous regions, and is absent or rare at low levels.

命名學

English roe is from Old English raha, from Proto-Germanic *raikhon, cognate to Old Norse ra, German Reh. The word is attested in the 5th century Caistor-by-Norwich astragalus inscription as raïhan. Ultimately perhaps from a PIE root *rei- "streaked, spotted."

形態

草地上的西方狍

西方狍身長95-135 厘米（3.1 - 4.4 尺），膊頭闊65-75 厘米（2.1 - 2.5 尺），體重約15-30 公斤（33-66 磅），在鹿科動物中屬於體型較小的物種。牠有着短小和直豎的叉角，更有帶紅色的身體及灰白色的臉。西方狍善於偽裝，在夏天時會呈金紅色作偽裝；冬天時身體變會黑化，呈啡色甚至是黑色，及加上白色的臀部。另外，牠僅短2-3 厘米（0.8 - 1.2 寸）的尾巴短得幾乎看不到，這亦有助隱藏自己。 西方狍的第一和第二對的叉角都沒有分叉，長度亦較短（5-12 厘米，即 2 - 4.7 寸），但當雄鹿在良好的情況下發育時，叉角便會增高至20-25厘米（8 - 10寸），並長出二至三個分叉，罕見的甚至有四個。When the male's antlers begin to regrow, they are covered in a thin layer of velvet-like fur which disappears later on after the hair's blood supply is lost. Males may speed up the process by rubbing their antlers on trees, so that their antlers are hard and stiff for the duels during the mating season. Unlike most cervids, roe deer begin regrowing antlers almost immediately after they are shed.

棲息及捕獵

西方狍的足跡

西方狍一般在黃昏時間迅速而優雅地活動，主要生活在樹林中，偶爾也在草原和稀疏的森林裡活動。主要以草、樹葉、漿果和嫩枝為食，尤其喜歡濕潤的嫩草，例如雨後第二天的草。 Roe deer will not generally venture in to a field that either has livestock in it (ie. sheep, cattle), or has recently had it in; this is because the livestock will make the grass very unclean. A pioneer species commonly associated with biotic communities at an early stage of succession, during the Neolithic period in Europe the Roe Deer was abundant, taking advantage of areas of forest or woodland cleared by Neolithic farmers (Boyle, 2006).

Roe Deer of Eastern Europe, suit in April/May.

Roe Deer fawn, two to three weeks old.

生命週期

一般來說，西方狍在野外生存最長的壽命為十年。當牠們生命快要結束時，牠們會像狗一樣的叫及亮出其白色的臀部。Rump patches differ between the sexes, with the white rump patches heart-shaped on females and kidney-shaped on males. Males may also bark, make a low grunting noise or make a high pitched wolf-like whine when attracting mates during the breeding season, often luring multiple does into their territory. The Roe Deer spends most of its life alone, preferring to live solitary except when mating during the breeding season.

繁殖

The polygamous Roe Deer males clash over territory in early summer and mate in early fall. During courtship, when the males chase the females, they often flatten the underbrush leaving behind areas of the forest in the shape of a figure eight called 'roe rings'. Males may also use their antlers to shovel around fallen foliage and dirt as a way of attracting a mate. Roebucks enter rutting inappetence during the July and August breeding season. Females are monoestrous and after delayed implantation usually give birth the following June, after a ten-month gestation period, typically to two spotted fawns of opposite sexes. The fawns remain hidden in long grass from predators until they are ready to join the rest of the herd; they are suckled by their mother several times a day for around three months. Roe deer adults will often abandon their young if they sense or smell that an animal or human has been near it. Young female roe deer can begin to reproduce when they are around 16 months old.

參見條目

• 東方狍

參考文獻

• Prior, Richard 1995. The Roe Deer : Conservation of a Native Species (Swan-Hill Press) is regarded as the definitive work on roe deer in Great Britain.
• 'Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife, DK Adult Publishing, (2001), pg. 241.
• Boyle, K.V. 2006. Neolithic wild game animals in Western Europe: The question of hunting, pp 10 - 23. In Animals in the Neolithic of Britain and Europe, Serjeantson, D, and Field, D (eds). Oxbow Books: Oxford.
• Lyneborg, L. (1971). Mammals. ISBN 0-7137-0548-5.
• Reader's Digest, The Wildlife Year, p. 228, ISBN 0-276-42012-8.
  • ジュリエット・クラットン・ブロック、ダン・E・ウィルソン 著 『ネイチャー・ハンドブック : 世界哺乳類図鑑』 新樹社、2005年、ISBN 4-7875-8533-9。339頁。

外部連結

• Roe Deer Research Group.