Red Deer (Cervus elephaus)

Hunting Season:

(male – red stag)	1. August – 28. February
(female)	1. August – 31. December
(calf)	1. August – 28. February

Best hunting time: Spetember (rut time)

Exception of hunt: (calves & 1 y.o. females) throughout the year

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The Red Deer lives in the entire territory of our country. It favours broad-leaved and mixed forests also meadows. Nowadays the number of red deer in Slovakia is estimated to be around 100,000. In our territory we register two kinds of red deers. On the east side of Slovakia, we have the Carpathian red deer and on the west side of Slovakia lives the Middle-European red deer. In central Slovakia we often have crossbreeds of these two individuals. The length of the Carpathian red deer’s body can reach up to 2-2.5 meters and the wither height of it goes up to 150 cm’s. Its weight can vary from 200 to 250 kg’s. On the other hand, the Middle-European deers weight varies from 140 to 200 kg. The females are approx. one third smaller than the stag.

Rut time:

The hunt in this period is accompanied by beautiful experiences, by which the hunters themselves get the goose bumps. In August Red stags start finding their usual mating places to which they are used to every year. Sometimes they move like that couple of kilometres. The mating starts approximately in the first half of September and lasts for about 4 weeks. The herd of the hinds is led by a fully grown stag and it tries to keep the entire herd together. If any of the hinds move away from the herd the fully grown stag gets her back with repeated strikes by his antlers and also protects the entire herd from any approaching rivals.
During the changing of the location of the herd, the herd is led by an old experienced hind and the stag always walks at the end, behind the herd. At this time the stag resounds with deep jugular lowing, which are usually the most intense during cold nights. Experienced hunters know by the lowing of the stag if it is a seeking stag, if it is a main stag that leads the herd, if it is chasing a mating hind, if it calls out a rival for fight or if it just simply rests. Mating season is just simply the most beautiful period in the year of the hunter.

Mouflon (Ovis musimon)

Hunting Season:

: (male – ram)	1. August – 28. February
(female)	1. August – 31. December
(lamb)	1. August – 28. February

 

Best hunting time: end of October – end of Noveber (rut time) , January - February

Exception of hunt: (Mouflon ram) 1. May – 28. February

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The mouflon (lat. Ovis musimon pallas), comes from Asia. The ram has a body length of 115-130 cm in diameter and a weight of mostly 30 to 50 kg, depending on the age and quality of the environment in which it lives. Sheep are slightly smaller and rarely weigh more than 30 kg. The rams has a reddish-brown belly in the summer, the mounth, the inside of the legs and the ass are white. Characteristic is big spot on the back, which has a white color. However, it may not occur in some individuals. In winter rams are darker, sometimes even brownish-black, which contrasts the light parts of the coat. Females and lambs have a similar coloration like a ram, but the bright parts are not as pronounced. In winter, they have an inconspicuous gray-brown color. Rams are characterized by lush mane under neck.

Rut time:

The mouflon (lat. Ovis musimon pallas), comes from Asia. The ram has a body length of 115-130 cm in diameter and a weight of mostly 30 to 50 kg, depending on the age and quality of the environment in which it lives. Sheep are slightly smaller and rarely weigh more than 30 kg. The rams has a reddish-brown belly in the summer, the mounth, the inside of the legs and the ass are white. Characteristic is big spot on the back, which has a white color. However, it may not occur in some individuals. In winter rams are darker, sometimes even brownish-black, which contrasts the light parts of the coat. Females and lambs have a similar coloration like a ram, but the bright parts are not as pronounced. In winter, they have an inconspicuous gray-brown color. Rams are characterized by lush mane under neck.

Fallow deer (Dama dama)

Hunting Season:

(male – fallow buck)	1. August – 28. February
(female)	1. August – 31. December
(calf)	1. August – 28. February

 

Best hunting time: October (rut time)

Exception of hunt: (calves & 1 y.o. females) throughout the year

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Fallow deer (lat. Dama dama) is a non-native in Slovakia - introduced game. We also classify it  in the deer subfamily. Males with a body length of up to 150 cm reach an average weight of 60-100 kg. Females that are smaller do not exceed a body length of 130 cm and their weight is in the range of 30 - 60 kg. Color is one of the charcteristic feature of the fallow deers. In the summer coat, the fallow deer has a reddish-brown color with conspicuous light spots, the underside of the neck, the abdomen and the inner side of the limbs are light. The light ass is lined with a black outline and the tail is black on the top, which allows you to safely recognize fallow deer at a higher distance, as long as it stands with us "back".

Rut time:

The rutting period generally starts in mid-October and continues into November. The deer seek larger clearings at this time, which are their rutting areas. This is where they fight one another and the does come to watch the battles. The gestation period is 230 days, and one fawn is born in May/June. (More rarely, two fawns may be born.) The fawns feed from their mothers for the next eight months, and they are sexually mature at the age of around two years. The does, fawns and young bucks form large herds outside the rutting period.

Roe deer

Hunting Season:

(male – roebuck)	16. May – 30. Spetember
(female - doe)	1. September – 31. December
(fawn)	1. September – 31. December

 

Best hunting time: May & July-August (rut time)

Exception of hunt: no exceptions

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The roe deer population has grown steadily over the past 40 years, and it is one of the most popular species of game among hunters today. The roebuck has become a highly sought after trophy. The roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) is the smallest of deer species in Slovakia. The shoulder height is 60-90 cm and body length 90-130 cm, while the weight typically ranges from 15 up to 30 kg. The deer begin to shed in April/May – bringing out their beautiful short reddish-brown fur. When the cold sets in in autumn, roe deer take up their thick grey winter coat again. Bucks begin to set antlers during the winter months, after the old antlers have been shed. During this growth process the antlers are covered with a layer of skin called ‘velvet’, which supplies nutrition to the antlers during growth and is soft to the touch. Roebucks begin to rub their antlers once they are fully developed. For some bucks this happens in March, while others have not finished rubbing when the Slovakian buck hunting season begins on 16 May.

Rut time:

The mating season starts in late July and early August. The roebuck will try to mate with all the does in its territory during this time and is therefore highly preoccupied with keeping the other bucks away. Once the doe has been mated with, the fertilised egg enters a dormant stage until January, after which the foetus begins to develop. This is called delayed gestation. Does give birth to between one and three fawns in May or June. Initially the doe leaves the fawn to forage, but the fawns are soon large enough to accompany the doe during foraging. Roe fawns are at high risk during the first few months of life. It is estimated that up to 60% of roe fawns get taken by foxes.

Wild boar (Sus Scrofa)

Hunting Season:

(male – keiler)	1. July – 15. January
(female - sow)	1. July – 15. January
(piglets)	throughout the year

 

Best hunting time: May & July-August (rut time)

Exception of hunt: all kind of wild boars (regardless of age and gender) can be hunted throughout the year

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The wild boar is basically found all over the world, with many different subspecies.
Sus scrofa, the Latin name for wild boar, falls into the category of European large game. The little striped piglets (young wild boar) grows to become a large and dangerous animal. The head of a fully-grown wild boar is huge, and accounts for approximately one third of its total body length. It is designed for rooting in the ground after plants, small animals and insects.
The wild boar eats both plants and animals (omnivore), just like we humans. Wild boar vary in size from continent to continent – and they are larger the further east you go. On average, a wild boar measures approx. 150 cm in length and about 80 cm in height. In Slovakia we have two weight categories of adult wild boar - especially keilers. Those who live in a mountain environment usually weigh up to 120 kg. Keilers that live in flat hunting areas where they have enough food can weigh up to 250 kg.

Rut time:

Male boars are solitary except during the mating season. They leave their group between 8-15 months of age. Breeding period is November to January. During the breeding period, males develop a coating of subcutaneous tissue, which may be 0.79–1.18 in. thick, extending from the shoulder blades to the rump, thus protecting vital organs during fights. The males will travel long distances searching for a sounder, eating little along the way. Once located, males drive off all young animals and fiercely fights potential rivals. A single male can mate with 5 to 10 sows. By the end of the rut (the mating season of ruminant animals such as deer, sheep, camel, goats, boars, etc.), males are often badly mauled and have lost 20% of their body weight.

Tatra Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra tatrica)

Best hunting time: 1. Spetember – 31. December

Exception of hunt: no exception

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The chamois occurs mainly in the mountains of Europe and its occurrence is widespread up to the Alps. In Slovakia, there is a Tatra chamois that inhabits the High Tatras and an Alpine chamois, which is widespread mainly in the Low Tatras. There is an undesirable cross between the two species, which threatens the original Tatra form.

The chamois (lat. Rupicapra rupicapra) and the are adapted to life in an alpine environment. The male chamois weighs 20 - 40 kg and the female 18 - 30 kg. His legs are firm and thick, adapted to move and jump over rocks. The soft pillow pads help him stay on the smooth surface of the rocks and the hard and rough edges of the rattles on the edges of the rocks. Both sexes of chamois grow horns and grow on the frontal bones of both males and females. The horns of the male are stronger and more hooked than the female-chamois. Behind the horns are the olfactory glands, which are also called fig glands. These glands secrete a musky odor.

Rut time:

Chamois mating time is from November to mid-December. Chamois males guard their herds and also provoke fights. During the mating time, males do not eat and lose weight, which can cause them to die during the onset of early and harsh winters. The female's pregnancy lasts 180 days, the young are born in May and June. The female usually has one young, more rarely two or three. Chamois can live up to 20 years.

Brown bear (Ursus arctos)

Best hunting time: autumn

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The brown bear (lat. Ursus arctos) is our largest beast. His body is massive and stocky, he has a large head and his tail is up to 20 cm long. The length of the body can reach up to 290 cm, the height at the withers up to 135 cm and the weight up to 360 kg. The male is larger and heavier than the female. His fur looks embarrassed and may have a variety of colors, most often dark brown. The claws are very sharp and are significantly longer on the front paws than on the back. Unlike a cat, it cannot pull them.

The size of the territory of the brown bear is usually 200-400 km2 (in females about 100 km2). He marks it on trees at a height of 160 - 240 cm by standing on his hind legs, tearing his bark with his claws and tearing it to his feet with his teeth. The trees then have bright spots with scratches on their teeth. Older bears push younger males from their territory to lower positions, so it happens that we meet them even where we would not have expected them years ago.

Rut time:

Bears are polygamous. The mating season for bears begins in May and ends in July. The males then look for lush bears and stay together for about 3 weeks, during which mating is repeated several times. Eventually, the tired bear leaves the female and goes to rest.

The bear's pregnancy lasts 7 to 8 months, after which the female born the young after hibernation. They can come from different males. The pups remain with the female for two years. The bear can have cubs only every other year, so it takes care of bears of different ages.