The Autumn Deer Rut. It’s one of Nature’s great spectacles to observe, but: “If you CARE for DEER, please DON’T GET TOO NEAR !”
As autumn approaches it will soon be time again for the ever-fascinating spectacle of the deer rut, which brings alive many of our woods and parks with the sound of clashing antlers and loud roars of red deer stags, belch-like groans of fallow bucks, and eerie whistling of sika stags. The mating season for red, sika and fallow deer may stretch out over eight weeks, but for all three species it reaches its peak (the rut) at some time during October. Having lived placidly together in all-male bachelor groups over the summer, by end of September the mature males develop thickened necks and manes, and become increasingly aggressive, sparring with one another to decide their initial rank in the hierarchy. The stags then set off in search of female groups and mating grounds, some travelling several miles commonly back near to where they rutted in the previous year.
The deer rut is o
ne of nature’s great annual spectacles, as well-matched males are seen locking antlers in fierce battles for supremacy and access to females, which not uncommonly lead to injuries and sometimes even death for the looser. Such battles are preceded by a wide range of ritualistic displays including thrashing of vegetation, wallowing in mud, and parallel walking to suss out the opposition. Parallel walks can often be a sign that a full-blown fight may be imminent, unless one of the stags thinks better of it and scarpers to leave the resident stag in charge a little longer.
Once the largest males have gathered a harem of females or set up a rutting territory, at the peak of the rut they will be active almost constantly throughout the day and night for days on end, chasing away any other males that come too close. By regular roaring a stag will aim to attract females and signal to other stags that he remains strong. Other displays involve thrashing their antlers and covering them in vegetation, chivvying females to keep them together in one group, and of course courtship behaviours and mating. During the rut the master stags (called bucks in case of fallow deer) will take in hardly any food and many will lose as much as 25% of their body weight over just two or three weeks.
The autumn deer rut has become a popular event drawing large numbers of wildlife enthusiasts to the many deer parks, forest and moors across the country. A downside of this is that during the rut deer herds, not least in enclosed deer parks, frequently become surrounded by people on all sides, as folk approach ever closer in totally inappropriate and often dangerous attempts to get close-up photos using small smart phones.
Such close approaches by people will frequently disrupt the mating system, as females start to feel unsafe on their chosen mating ground and other males move in while the master stag has work even harder than normal to re-establish his territory or harem repeatedly. Stags often lose their fear of people during the rut, and once cornered or surrounded may suddenly charge at any bystander who has foolishly come too close, with some serious consequences reported most years. In fact just two days after I filmed the clip above, which shows people with smart phones surrounding a group of rutting deer in Richmond Park, in the same park a woman gored by a stag was hospitalized for several days.
So – when going to observe and photograph the deer rut this year, please do so responsibly at a good distance away, and try to arm yourself with binoculars or a camera with a longish zoom lens. In deer parks like Richmond and Bushy Park on the edge of London, signs are now posted in many areas asking people always to keep at very least 50 metres between you and the deer, ideally more! In case of wild deer, I would suggest its best to at least treble that distance and ensure at all times that the deer are not becoming encircled by people approaching from several sides at once. You’ll be rewarded by getting views of deer behaving much more naturally.
The photo below shows a good example of an area set aside by the National Trust on Exmoor near a favoured rutting area, where posters displayed during the rut ask people to remain on one side along the field boundary; – if adhered to, this gives the deer the chance to just gradually move a little further away if and when disturbance gets excessive.
IF your Care for Deer – Don’t get to Near.