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Roe Deer, Fallow Deer and Wild Boar Used Woody Biocorridors for More Than Movement

Male fallow deer resting in woodland in South Moravia, Czech Republic
Research · Ecology

European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), European fallow deer (Dama dama) and wild boar (Sus scrofa) used woody biocorridors in the agricultural landscape of South Moravia, Czech Republic for more than simply moving between habitat patches. These narrow strips of woody vegetation connect habitat through intensively farmed landscapes. Forty camera traps monitored 14 corridors from October 2020 to May 2022 and recorded 19,412 independent roe deer events, 3,828 fallow deer events and 804 wild boar events.

Map of woody biocorridors monitored in South Moravia
Locations of the woody biocorridors monitored in South Moravia. Figure 1 from Divišová et al. (2026), European Journal of Wildlife Research, CC BY 4.0.

Canopy shade was the only measured corridor feature linked to activity

The camera records showed the corridors being used for movement, feeding and shelter. Of the structural features measured, canopy shading was the only corridor characteristic clearly associated with ungulate activity: more heavily shaded corridors had higher activity, while width, length, area and the measured vegetation-composition variables showed no clear relationship.

The three species used the corridors at different times of day

The species also differed in when they used the corridors. Roe deer and fallow deer had mainly bimodal, crepuscular activity patterns, while wild boar were predominantly nocturnal. These differences were strongest in summer and became less distinct in winter. For fallow deer, the timing of corridor use also differed between corridors beside pastures and those beside arable fields.

Roe deer shifted activity where fallow deer were present

Roe deer activity changed at sites where fallow deer were present. Without fallow deer, roe deer activity was more concentrated at night, whereas at sites with fallow deer it was distributed more broadly across the 24-hour cycle. The authors interpret this temporal shift as consistent with competitive interactions between the two deer species and conclude that woody corridors function not only as links through fragmented farmland but also as feeding grounds, shelter and sites of interspecific interaction.

Sources and image credit

  1. Divišová, M., Suchomel, J., Dvořáková, D., & Šipoš, J. (2026). More than movement routes: The role of biocorridors for feeding, shelter, and niche partitioning of wild ungulates. European Journal of Wildlife Research, 72, 55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-026-02086-8Primary open-access article published 30 March 2026 under CC BY 4.0. Forty camera traps monitored 14 woody biocorridors in South Moravia from October 2020 to May 2022, recording 19,412 roe deer, 3,828 fallow deer and 804 wild boar events.

Image: Jiří Nedorost / Wikimedia Commons — male European fallow deer resting in woodland in South Moravia, Czech Republic; region- and species-relevant representative image, not one of the camera-trapped animals. · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Ecology

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

European Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus Explore species European Fallow Deer Dama dama Explore species Wild Boar Sus scrofa Explore species

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