Bed-site selection by European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in southern Norway during winter

Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) beds were located by tracking in snow in the Lier valley in southern Norway during the winter of 1992–1993. Roe deer preferred to bed down below heavy canopy cover in order to derive thermal and possibly other benefits, whereas they fed in areas with little or no canopy cover. This led to the use of "forage beds" with little cover close to feeding areas and "cover beds" with heavy canopy cover farther away. The duration of the bedding period and temperature influenced the decision of the roe deer as to whether to leave the feeding area before bedding down. Bedding down in open habitat required more ground cover for protection against the wind, so wind was probably a significant factor in the operative temperature. Roe deer preferred to bed on microtopographic "tops," and animals in groups bedded down 2–4 m apart. This was interpreted as an antipredator strategy.