Deer in the forest.

Roe deer are particularly numerous in the coniferous forests of northern Britain, but are shy creatures that will disappear into the trees if disturbed. They are most likely to be seen as they cross a forest ride. At about two years old a roe buck acquires a territory that he normally occupies for life. The size varies, and may cover between 12-75 acres. During spring and summer, the buck patrols of his territory, marking it by rubbing scent from his head glands against trees and fighting with intruding bucks. Roe does also have territories, but do not defend them. They often overlap with those of other does and several bucks. Deer of any species may cause considerable damage to trees by fraying bark when they clean their antlers, by breaking branches when they thrash with their antlers at rutting time and also by stripping bark to eat.  A tree`s growth may be distorted, and if bark is rubbed or stripped off all  round, the tree will die. Deer also browse on accessible shoots, large deer reaching as high as 6-7ft when standing on their hind legs. In commercial forests the damage can be serious and new plantations in traditional red deers areas are normally fenced off. All deer like to browse on the brambles that grow in clearings, with roe deer being especially fond of them.