# Roe deer (*Capreolus capreolus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/roe-deer  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) is a mammal in the deer family Cervidae, order Artiodactyla, subfamily Capreolinae. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial herbivore with an adult body mass of 22.5 kg and a cathemeral activity pattern. Gestation lasts 153 days, with up to 293 days reported, and a litter holds 1.785 young on average in the sheet's data, with up to 2 reported. The roe deer is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 20.5 kg – 22.5 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 17.2 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 153 days – 293 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1.79 – 2 |
| Age at maturity | 13.6 months – 21.5 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.05 |
| Active | Day and night (cathemeral) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Artiodactyla
- family: Cervidae
- genus: Capreolus
- species: *Capreolus capreolus* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Capreolus capreolus canus*, *Capreolus capreolus capreolus*, *Capreolus capreolus caucasicus*, *Capreolus capreolus italicus*, *Capreolus pygargus var. caucasica*, *Cervus capreolus*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the roe deer?

The roe deer is a mammal in the family Cervidae, order Artiodactyla. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial species.

### How heavy is a roe deer?

An adult roe deer has a body mass of 22.5 kg.

### What does the roe deer eat?

The roe deer is a herbivore.

### How long does a roe deer live?

The roe deer has a lifespan of 17.23 years, with up to 17.5 years reported.

### How many young does a roe deer have?

A roe deer litter holds 1.785 young in the sheet's representative value, with up to 2 reported, and there are 1.05 litters per year.

### When does a roe deer reach sexual maturity?

A roe deer reaches sexual maturity at 1.5 years (534 days), with reported values from 1.1 to 1.8 years.

### Who named the roe deer?

The roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/roe-deer