The body mass of the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) in the foothills of the East Sudety Mountains

Abstrakt

The aim of the study was to identify variation in the body mass of bucks and does of the roe deer shot in 2005–2011 in a hunting district at the border of Poland and the Czech Republic.
The material comprised 334 bodies of hunted bucks (173 individuals) and does (161 individuals), which were weighed with 0.5 kg accuracy. Statistical analyses of this data showed that individuals of a gradually lower body mass have been hunted since 2007. The body mass of the bucks decreased during the seven years (2005–2011) of the study. The mean body mass of the population of bucks decreased by about 2.5 kg during five years (2007–2011). The decrease of the body mass of does was reflected by a 25% decrease of the mode value during seven years. This means a 5 kg decrease in the body mass of the most frequently hunted individuals. The proportion of individuals in a poor condition increased in the studied population. After the years when does of high body mass were hunted, the body mass of collected does became gradually lower. In 2011 the hunting of does increased by 94%, and of the bucks by 76%, in comparison with 2006. The mean body mass of individuals decreased by 12%. These figures reflect deterioration of the local population of the roe deer.