After more than three decades since the return of this form of hunting, the moorish roe deer in Andalusia they are the perfect climax to the hunting season. It is the first place in Spain where its season is open, a true treasure of our hunting modalities. The Andalusian roe deer has seen its value increase as a hunting trophy as it is an ecotype unique that also lives in environments of great natural beauty.
The Andalusian populations of roe deer constitute the last frontier of the species in its western south limit, since they have never been able to reach high densities and have always strongly depended on climatic factors.
The Moorish roe deer is one of the most hard to beat of Europe; this is due to the thick tree and shrub cover of the habitat where it is found, in addition to the strong reclusive and distrustful character of the males. Generally, in open farms focused on Moorish roe deer, the average number of hunts on stalking can amount to 15 outputs for killed animal
It is hunted in the modality of beaten in the month of March, a month earlier than in the rest of Spain. In the stalking modality in those preserves that have it reflected in their technical hunting plan and comply with the administrative specifications of the Environment, they may request the extension of the stalking until May 31. Likewise, females may be stalked for population control from November 15 to January 15.
A specimen of Moorish roe deer
The modality of batida is practiced fundamentally in the Natural Park the cork oaks. This park is in an excellent state of conservation, being the largest cork oak forest in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the most important in the world. Exceptional gallery forests located in the so-called ‘canutos’, deep valleys and straits dug by the rivers populated by holly, ferns, mastics, rockroses, heather, lavender, torviscos and hawthorns; Durillon and alder trees accompanied by hundred-year-old cork oaks mixed with wild olives, gall oaks, Pyrenean oaks… A spectacular scenery and only.
The batida is practiced almost the same as a hunt with the exception of the restricted use of the rehalas. Shooting roe deer is very difficult, first because of its speed and then because of its size. Small calibers are mainly used. It is impressive to see how the roe deer they try to deceive the dogs crossing their tracks over and over again to confuse them.
a special deer
The Moorish roe deer (‘Capreolus capreolus throat’, Meunier 1983) presents own traits: practically no white bib on the neck, small size, more accentuated sexual dimorphism, shorter and broader skull, significantly shorter and broader mandible adapted to xerophytic vegetation that is much drier and tougher than that of the north. These roe deer are the least heavy and with smaller wingspan in the whole of the European roe deer populations.
Moorish roe deer weigh between 21-26 kg for males and 18-24 kg for females, with a wingspan between 68-75 cm and 65-73 cm. His coloration it is invariably gray throughout the year. The antler cycle is one month ahead of the rest of European roe deer.
belong to a population genetically different to the rest of Iberian populations, which was ratified by the CSIC at the VII European Roe Deer Congress, Jerez 2005. In 2014 the CIC manual on the evaluation and measurement of hunting trophies was revised. The CIC highlights the recognition of the Andalusian roe deer phenotype as new category of trophies for roe deer.
The recognition of these different phenotypes is based on a large amount of scientific literature and studies available to date, such as ‘The Andalusian roe deer reference station’, with the aim of coordinating the conservation, breeding and repopulation of the species, to revalue it as an ecotype of great interest in the Mediterranean ecosystem and a valuable and singular game piece. Until 2018, thanks to the Management Plan, a total of 24 individualsof which 15 have been released in the Sierra de Huétor Natural Park and nine in the Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Natural Park.
The genetic certification will be carried out through the Center for Analysis and Diagnosis, belonging to the Environment. The specimens that want to be approved as a trophy of Andalusian roe deer must be genetically analyzed and come from accredited preserves. In this sense, it will be the National Board for Homologation of Hunting Trophies that ultimately determines the homologation of these trophies.
