Fallow Deer in the New Forest

	Fallow Deer bucks battling in the New Forest

Starting in early October, the Fallow Deer rut lasts for 3-4 weeks, although bucks’ rutting physique starts to develop considerably earlier - velvet, the layer of initially soft, hairy skin that covers the Fallow Deer's growing antlers, dies back and is rubbed off; the bone hardens ready for the battles ahead; Adam’s apples begin to bulge; bulk increases, particularly around the neck and shoulders; and rutting odours develop.

In early September, Fallow Deer bucks re-appear in traditional rutting areas, having spent the preceding months in bachelor parties, separate from the does. The Fallow Deer bucks remain for a while in each others company, but increasingly prepare for action. Play fights develop; rutting postures are intermittently assumed; vegetation is thrashed; antlers become burnished; and scrapes and wallows are made in which the bucks churn the ground, urinate in the quagmire and roll in the resultant mess - it apparently makes them more attractive to the ladies!

Fallow Deer woodland rutting stands are often quite small, with sometimes hardly room for buck and a couple of does. Some Fallow Deer rutting stands, though, are extensive expanses of ground, muddied by constant stamping and overhung by shredded branches.

Throughout the Fallow Deer rut, thrashing of branches continues, and so does stamping and parading. But in quieter, maybe more lucid, moments, Fallow Deer bucks stretch up their bulky necks, reach high to seemingly caress the tattered branches, but in the process deposit scent from a gland below the eye, marking their territory so that others will know it is occupied.  

	Fallow Deer buck groaning at a woodland rutting stand

Groaning - the Fallow Deer buck’s mating call – is perhaps best described as a cross between a loud belch, a groan, a snore, a snort and a growl. It is used to attract the does for, unlike red deer stags, Fallow Deer bucks generally do not actively round-up and maintain a harem. They depend for courtship success upon the attractions of their groan!

With head held not much above the horizontal, lips curled back and pursed, the primeval sound seems to come from deep within the Fallow Deer buck’s very being. But it’s not only does that are attracted by the commotion, for often other inquisitive Fallow Deer bucks, both young and old, come to investigate – it’s as if the groans advertise the proximity of a group of does, which often, of course, they do.

Noise and posturing is often enough to settle disputes, but when rival Fallow Deer bucks are reasonably evenly matched and equally belligerent, battle royals occur. Then the woods reverberate to the sound of bone striking bone as fights commence. But Fallow Deer combatants don’t just stand head-to-head, trading blows – these contests are really battles of strength as, heads down, antlers locked, the Fallow Deer bucks push and shove, using every straining muscle to gain advantage.

Eventually, the vanquished Fallow Deer buck will break off from battle, turn and run, usually pursued by the victor, keen to drive home his advantage. But sometimes antlers become inextricably locked together, and it’s not so easy to escape. Then, unable to feed or fend for themselves, the animals face a sad, slow, lingering death in uncomfortably close proximity to each other.

	This Fallow Deer buck lost an eye to the fight

Serious injuries quite often occur – this is not simply a ritual form of fighting. Eyes are lost to gouging antlers, flanks are slashed and animals lamed in frenzies of naked aggression.

Yearling Fallow Deer bucks are often tolerated around the stand, provided that they stay at the edge where often they’ll feed, skirmish amongst themselves or simply lie up. Any that move in too close, though, will be noisily chased away.

Fallow Deer does often ignore the fighters, or look on, seemingly perplexed, before, maybe sick-and-tired of the whole noisy process, they quietly wander off.

Fallow Deer rutting activity generally quietens by mid-morning. Then the resident Fallow Deer buck will likely sit down in the midst of the stand, whilst does and younger bucks settle around the edge, or feed nearby.

For the Fallow Deer bucks, the rut is an incredibly tiring time. By the end of the process, they’re likely to have lost considerable weight and be exhausted, ready to slip into the background where they blend well with the leaves and bracken whilst trying to regain condition before the onset of winter.

Then, of course, it’s time for the bachelor parties to form, and the annual cycle starts afresh.

References:
The History of British Mammals: Derek Yalden
Fallow Deer: Jochen Langbein and Norma Chapman, British Deer Society