 Wafro's Houthalen Travelogues | | | |
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| Page Views: 275 Last Visit to Houthalen: - I Live Here | Roe Deer of Houthalen-Helchteren by Wafro - last update: Mar 17, 2008 |
Physical appearance | Location: Achter de Witte Bergen |
The Roe Deer is a relatively small deer, with a body length of 95-135 cm, a shoulder height of 65-75 cm, and a weight of 15-30 kg. It has rather short, erect antlers and a reddish body with a grey face. Its hide is golden red in summer, darkening to brown or even black in winter, with lighter undersides and a white rump patch; the tail is very short (2-3 cm), and barely visible. Only the males have antlers, which are lost during winter, but which re-grow in time for the mating season. The first and second set of antlers are unbranched and short (5-12 cm), while older bucks in good conditions develop antlers up to 20-25 cm long with two or three, rarely even four, points. 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. Roebucks are the only type of deer that can regrow their antlers during winter. |
|  | Habitat and diet The Roe Deer is primarily crepuscular, very quick and graceful, living on high ground or mountains, although it may venture to grasslands and sparse forests. It feeds mainly on grass, leaves, berries and young shoots. 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 |
| | Behaviour and life cycle The Roe Deer attains a maximum life span (in the wild) of ten years. When alarmed, it will bark a sound much like a dog and flash out its white rump patch. Rump patches differ between the sexes, with the white rump patches heart-shaped on females and kidney-shaped on males. Males may also bark 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. |
| Location: Ten Haagdoornheide |
| | Reproduction 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 folliage and dirt as a way of attracting a mate. Roebucks enter rutting inappetance during the July and August breeding season. Females are monoestrous and after delayed implantation usually give birth the following June, after a seven-month gestation period, typically to two spotted kids of opposite sexes. The kids 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. Young female Roe Deer can begin to reproduce when they are around 16 months old. |
| Location: Helchteren forest |
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| | TEXT: Wikipedia |
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 Comments for Wafro about Houthalen | | | | |
KiKitC Tue Nov 25, 2008 14:14 UTC
Looks and sounds wonderful to visit Houthalen. Old mining trails out here offer great off-roading...but I may be in for a balloon flight over that beautiful country. Thanks for the great tips. | AgentBrittany83 Mon Apr 7, 2008 01:02 UTC
Belgium is a great place indeed. I'm going back in December! | hunterV Fri Feb 22, 2008 18:44 UTC
Ian, your place is very nice indeed! See you in Belgium some day (hopefully)! | Laura_Mexico Sun Jan 27, 2008 03:36 UTC
Very nice wildlife pictures -- didn't imagine that you had such a place in Belgium. And... it's great that you already have a welcome msg in Spanish on your main page ;) Cheers! |
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