Photos of female European roe deer, wildlife photos by Nikolay Dimitrov

I love wild animals and I love photographing them. Around the village of Zheravna – the place where I spend my vacations, live many European roe deers. You can’t see them while you go on excursion in the forest because they are very timid and they usually can hear or smell you far before you see them. So, many people think there are no any animals in these forests… But they are.

Every day I go out, I see roe deers. Usually I see them from very far and I can’t take good pictures. I own a 300/4 lens, which is not enough long, so I have to go to the animals or I have to attract them to me. Stalking a roe-deer is not easy – these animals have very good senses. Sometimes I can do this, especially if the wind is coming from the animal’s side. Attracting an animal is not easier, and can be successful only in late summer, within the roe deer wedding period. To do this, I use a special whistle, making the same sound as the female, when she is calling the male.

Well, the trick with the whistle was working great last summer, and I was able to take some very good photos of male deers, but now it doesn’t. I don’t know why. Maybe the wedding period has passed too early this summer – I saw some roe-deer wedding rings very early this summer, in June. Usually, they appear in mid-July. For those, wondering what “roe-deer wedding rings” are – these are circles of trampled grass around bushes or trees.

Calling for a male roe deer with the whistle, a female came. (The sound this whistle makes is the same that the little makes, but the little is calling in a different way – in a higher register and too many times, while the adult female is calling some 6-8 times, then is keeping silence for some 5-6 minutes and calling again.)

Here are six photos I’ve chose from a series of around 20. Our meeting was just 3 minutes long. She was wondering what is this strange thing with the big eye looking at her :-) On the last picture, you can see the roe calling her little. She was thinking I am the calf :-)

Click the pictures for larger samples.