How did the telemetrically monitored roe deer females in Slovenia spend the summer?

After we presented the movements of three roe deer bucks from Jelovica, Slovenia in our previous piece of news, this time we present you the interesting movements of two roe deer does, which were also monitored in the area of six hunting clubs from the Jelovica study area (Železniki, Selca, Jošt – Kranj, Bohinjska Bistrica, Sorica and Jelovica – Ribno), within the framework of Action C3.

Tereza

The young doe Tereza served us with a surprise this spring. After spending March and April in her winter area (map 1: red polygon), she set off on 2nd May and moved the furthest of all marked roe deer in just one and a half day: to the Triglav National Park area (map 1: yellow polygon). The air distance between the two areas is approximately 15 kilometres. Then, in mid-May, she moved further (blue polygon), about one and a half kilometres away. Tereza may have moved in search of quieter areas to give birth to avoid summer tourists in the National Park. It is also interesting to note that in September Tereza returned to her winter area, which she occupied last season.

Vesna

The young doe Vesna moved away from the capture site the fastest of all captured individuals: after only ten days (on New Year’s Eve). Not only that, she was also the only captured female that moved to the Jelovica plateau at the very beginning of the winter, spending the whole winter at an altitude of around 1100 m above sea level. Only one other male roe deer made a similar movement, moving to an altitude of around 1200 m in mid-January. The other marked females moved from lower altitudes to the Jelovica plateau only in spring.

From January to May 2022, Vesna’s home range on the plateau was approximately 138 ha (Map 2: orange polygon). The aerial distance between the capture site and the centre of her home range on Jelovica is approximately 2.6 km.