Selection of bed‐sites by roe deer <i>Capreolus capreolus</i> fawns in a boreal forest landscape

Abstract

Bed‐site selection by 19 radio‐collared roe deer Capreolus capreolus fawns from seven family groups was studied during June‐July 1998 in southeastern Norway. The habitat consisted of small agricultural fields surrounded by industrially exploited boreal forest. Within the forest, fawns selected bed‐sites that offered greater concealment, higher vegetation and more canopy cover than random sites. No such selection was evident within the homogenous pasture on the fields. Bed‐sites in fields offered greater concealment than those in the forest, where there were no detectable differences between stand age classes. Compositional analysis revealed a significant preference for bed‐sites to be located in forest, although fields and bogs were often used. Within the forest, stands of all age classes were used. The broad use of habitats may either reflect that habitats were equally good, or it may be a strategy to increase the area a predator has to search in order to find a fawn.