Swimming Roe buck

Blue400

Well-Known Member
My mate sent this picture from last year of a roe buck swimming from one side to the other side of loch Ken, I can only presume the rut was on. atb blue.


Picture 040.webp
 
Only ever seen one roe swimming, that was a doe crossing a river. Get red crossing the loch here and doing it at any time of the year.
 
I think I reported on here last year about a game shoot I was on. A bird was hit and fell into a wood on the edge of a small lake. After the drive I sent my cocker into the wood to retrieve the bird, and a few seconds later a roe doe came haring out of the woods, dived straight into the lake, swam to the other side about 100m away, climbed the bank and disappeared through a hedge.

First and only time I've witnessed a roe swimming.

Oh, and the cocker came back with the bird :-D
 
Was fishing late on a spring evening on Grafham water (by 'the Willows' for anyone that knows it) and watched a roe doe swim clean across from the far side and climb out about 20m down the bank from me. Astonishing.
 
I used to live in an old lock cottage in Surrey and I regularly saw Roe deer swimming across to avoid dogs or people. Admittedly on fairly narrow channels, up to 25/30 metres across. We all know about the Sika on Brownsea Island, that's a fair bit of water to swim across.
 
We overlook the Tay. Roe deer commonly swim across. Very interesting. No hesitancy, just walk in and over they go. Not necessarily at low tide, just whenever.
They sit quite high in the water with, obviously, very buoyant coats.
 
Some 40 yrs ago I was salmon fishing the 'Mellings Wood' pool on the river Ribble, (if anyone is familiar with said location) just downstream of the M6 motorway crossing (J 31 Preston). Standing quietly among tall Himalayan Balsm at the waters edge, when from the opposite bank, a roe doe emerged and swam directly towards me. I am not sure why, but at the time full of youth and exuberance, the thought occurred to me I should try and catch the animal. It failed to notice me, and as it emerged from the river at my feet, I jumped on it......still unsure why, even after all this time....just 'seemed like a good idea at the time'! To say I had 'a bit of a tussle' is an understatement! However, I was able to subdue the animal and release unharmed and non the worse for it's experience!
Having spent a lifetime in the countryside, huntin', shootin'n'fishin', I have only seen one other deer, a red, swimming a river. Though I have regularly seen areas along rivers where it is quite apparent deer use as crossing-places. And my rather unique experience with the roe still figures quite highly as one of my most memorable/colourful and one I would probably not repeat!

'Camodog'.
 
964345_10200803884452718_600683956_o.webp Roe buck swimming across loch etive during the rut, seen him with a doe for a couple of days before a big buck turned up and chased him in to the loch where he then swam back to the south shore.
 
This is a brilliant tale.

Real men don't shoot deer they wrestle them, fair play to you


Some 40 yrs ago I was salmon fishing the 'Mellings Wood' pool on the river Ribble, (if anyone is familiar with said location) just downstream of the M6 motorway crossing (J 31 Preston). Standing quietly among tall Himalayan Balsm at the waters edge, when from the opposite bank, a roe doe emerged and swam directly towards me. I am not sure why, but at the time full of youth and exuberance, the thought occurred to me I should try and catch the animal. It failed to notice me, and as it emerged from the river at my feet, I jumped on it......still unsure why, even after all this time....just 'seemed like a good idea at the time'! To say I had 'a bit of a tussle' is an understatement! However, I was able to subdue the animal and release unharmed and non the worse for it's experience!
Having spent a lifetime in the countryside, huntin', shootin'n'fishin', I have only seen one other deer, a red, swimming a river. Though I have regularly seen areas along rivers where it is quite apparent deer use as crossing-places. And my rather unique experience with the roe still figures quite highly as one of my most memorable/colourful and one I would probably not repeat!

'Camodog'.
 
I have fished upstream of that stretch as a guest Camodog, not 40 years ago but more than 10, I didn't catch anything!

I know that the crofters on a certain Hebridean island where we used to have a house used to get a 'bonus' in the form of a swimming deer when out checking their lobster pots on the loch (between the big island and a wee one) Generally red stags but a good 6 pt roebuck once that then graced the wall of said 'opportunist.' The stretch of water was about 1/4m.

Nick


Some 40 yrs ago I was salmon fishing the 'Mellings Wood' pool on the river Ribble, (if anyone is familiar with said location) just downstream of the M6 motorway crossing (J 31 Preston). Standing quietly among tall Himalayan Balsm at the waters edge, when from the opposite bank, a roe doe emerged and swam directly towards me. I am not sure why, but at the time full of youth and exuberance, the thought occurred to me I should try and catch the animal. It failed to notice me, and as it emerged from the river at my feet, I jumped on it......still unsure why, even after all this time....just 'seemed like a good idea at the time'! To say I had 'a bit of a tussle' is an understatement! However, I was able to subdue the animal and release unharmed and non the worse for it's experience!
Having spent a lifetime in the countryside, huntin', shootin'n'fishin', I have only seen one other deer, a red, swimming a river. Though I have regularly seen areas along rivers where it is quite apparent deer use as crossing-places. And my rather unique experience with the roe still figures quite highly as one of my most memorable/colourful and one I would probably not repeat!

'Camodog'.
 
I haven't seen it myself but apparently Roe have been seen swimming across to the Isle of Wight , often between Hurst Spit and Fort Albert which are only a mile or so apart.

atb Tim
 
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