Survival rates and causes of mortality of roe deer Capreolus capreolus in a rural landscape, eastern Poland

Game species in the cultural landscapes of Europe are exposed to several sources of anthropogenic pressure. Whilst hunting is part of coordinated wildlife management, poaching is difficult to quantify, and hence, relatively little is known about its impact on survival patterns of game species. We estimated survival and cause-specific mortality rates of 31 roe deer Capreolus capreolus in the surroundings of the Białowieża Primeval Forest, eastern Poland, from 2010 to 2013. The study area consisted of large, extensively used agricultural fields and a mosaic of pine plantations, which were interspersed with natural forest stands and small agricultural fields and meadows. Roe deer were regularly hunted and the forested part of the study area was traversed by large carnivores. Annual survival rate of all deer was 0.69 and did not differ between seasons. Annual survival rates of females and males in each age class (young and adult) were similar. Poaching was a major source of mortality (6 out of 13 roe deer deaths), and poachers did not prefer any sex or age. Adult survival (0.77) was higher than survival of young individuals (0.53); this trend was stronger when poaching was excluded from the analysis. All cases of poaching were recorded between mid-September and February. Although the two parts of the study area were exposed to a similar degree of anthropogenic pressure, all poached individuals occupied home ranges in the mosaic, where the forest cover in home ranges of roe deer was significantly higher than in the field