Roe Deer
Pre-1965 records
Wild roe deer were almost certainly absent from Essex in the nineteenth
century until two bucks and four does from Dorset were liberated in Epping
Forest in 1884. The year of introduction is sometimes given as 1883 but this
appears to be an error. The famous naturalist, James Harting, (1887) who
helped catch the deer and travelled with them to Loughton, states that this was
in February 1884 and Buxton (1884), who initiated the re-introduction of these
deer to the Forest, when writing his book Epping Forest in July 1884, refers to
the deer being liberated in February last. In the fourth and later editions of his
book, however, the date gets changed to 1883 (Buxton, 1897), an error copied
by Whitehead (1964). The does must have been pregnant when caught as roe
deer fawns were seen in the Forest in July 1884 (Buxton, 1884). Subsequently,
another eight roe deer were released in the Forest (Buxton, 1897). The deer
multiplied, but the maximum number of animals reported in the annual census
(Fig. 2) was only 43, in 1899.
Many of the roe deer were not counted in the Forest proper but were
believed to be in woods on estates adjoining the Forest. For example, in 1901
only six roe deer were seen but it was estimated that about 30 were on adjacent
estates (Anon., 1904) and the official census figure was given as 41 (Whitehead,
Figure 2. The number of roe deer recorded on the annual count in Epping
Forest, 1896-1920.
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