Fallow Deer
by Alex White
As Autumn arrives the activity of the Fallow deer increases and the gathering in of the harvest makes them more visible.
After noticing a few signs and seeing a couple of glimpses of a herd of female fallow deer, I did a bit of detective work, following trails, prints, droppings and the trees the male had marked.
After a few days of moving trail cameras around in different areas, I came across a regular meeting place for both the male and female Fallows, known this time of year as a rutting stand.
The adult male Fallow deer has marked certain trees by fraying the bark and scent marking with his sub-orbital scent glands, he also urinates on parts of the ground and scrapes the mud away with his hooves. This is done as the rutting season commences. Two particular young trees have been thrashed, which you can see in the photos above.
© Alex White 2019
