Red Deer in Rutting Season
Wildlife and the animal kingdom has always been a massive passion of mine. As a child I always collected animal cards, facts and posters when everyone else was collecting football stickers. Since starting hill walking and mountaineering, I have seen many wonderful creatures gracing the landscape in my walks and adventures. However, my favourite mammal is easily the Red Deer. On numerous occasions whilst walking in the Scottish Highlands I have gone several days without seeing another human being. Yet I am always sure that somewhere high on a Munro, standing watchful with an err of majestic grace and royalty, will be a Red Deer stag with his hinds not far away.
Filming Red Deer
It’s because of this I wanted to follow and film the deer but they are very illusive most of the year. However, in October when it’s rutting season, the males compete to mate with the females so are more conspicuous. There are several wild herds of Red Deer in the White Peak area of the Peak District National Park in the UK. I have been walking those hills since I was 6 years old. My plan was to shadow the herds for one week, capturing them at different times of the day and spend a night out on the moors with them wild camping. Follow me on my journey with this magnificent beast:
Day 1:
Day 1 started well for me. I tracked the deer down to the back edge of the moorland, well away from all the public pathways. Straight away I was amazed by their vocal roars, known as bolving, and a somewhat haunting and menacing sound that can travel for miles in the right conditions. They use the roar as their first line of defence against other stags. The biggest and strongest stags produce the loudest and deepest roars. I was lucky enough to see a short battle on my first day. Although it was only a short encounter it may have been more of a test of strength, perhaps, for a later battle. My adrenalin was pumping like mad but I felt incredibly lucky to have witnessed my first battle.
Day 2:
06.30 saw me heading out early to try to get some action in the cooler conditions. After walking through the boggy marshland, I began to climb a hill to where I could definitely hear several deer. The sun was now up and, as I arrived at the top, I was faced with 4 young stags who were not intimidated at all by this bearded man and his camera. I stood there alone with 20ft between us. Four stags stood side by side playing who could blink first with me. It was if I was in some form of spaghetti western stand-off! All I could think was “I bet they can run a hell of a lot faster than me!” The stags eventually lost interest and went about their business. After that, the rest of the day was fairly uneventful.
Day 3:
Late afternoon and it’s a warm and beautiful day. Starting off following some deer runs through the long grass up onto the flats. There was such a huge gathering of Red Deer, from young males to large groups of females and also a few large older stags. I was almost totally surrounded by the pure volume of them! It was incredibly impressive to see such numbers thriving in their natural environment. I set up my tripod, mounted the camera on it, videoed the amazing scene only to later discover that my memory card was full. And I had no spare! “Damn it! What an absolute idiot I am!” Instead, I sat down, relaxed and allowed nature to be my TV screen for a couple of hours. What a joy.
Day 4:
06.00 and the weather has turned for the worse. Mother Nature is in a foul mood and is disrupting the filming for the day. However no amount of weather is going to stop me enjoying being out. I set up a base tarp, strapped the GoPro to the dogs and got some doggy cam footage. After firing up the Jet Boil I enjoyed some hot soup whilst listening to the distant roars carrying in the wind. I then made my way back to the van.
Day 5:
Today I decided to go the long way round to take in some of the other animals and wildlife that the red deer share their habitat with. My first encounter was the very intimidating, yet gentle, Highland Cattle. A vision of power and cuddliness all wrapped into one. They had young ones with them too which alway makes me take extra caution just in case there’s an over protective mother.
Wildlife
The rest of the way was filled with sightings of furry caterpillars, grouse, sheep and an abundance of bird life. This included a beautiful kestrel that was constantly in sight as it hovered silently above looking for small rodents to swoop down on. Upon reaching the main deer herd I noticed a particularly large male. He was extremely vocal and constantly strutting back and forth, keeping his group of hinds close by. It was as though he was preparing for something.
Wild Camp and Final Day:
I set up camp at around 10pm using a green tarp, roll mat and sleeping bag in the hope of getting some nocturnal bolving recordings. Night time is when the stags seem to be at their loudest, purely because there is less noise pollution. Unfortunately it was a fairly quiet night, although all was not lost. As I lay in my sleeping bag I began to hear the odd roar. I ventured out of my warm bag into the somewhat gloomy, cold and misty morning, grabbed my camera and looked around. As I stood there I picked out the distant noise of a clatter, again and again. I suddenly realised it was the noise of antlers crashing together. Wow! I was so excited! “This is it”, I thought. “Come on. Time to get the money shot.” Quickly, but quietly, I walked up a slope to where the noise was coming from. It was getting louder and so was my heart as it thumped away.
Over the Top
As I came over the top, there they were. Two huge males going head to head in a full on battle! The power was amazing! Their strength and resilience showed with neither one prepared to back down. Antlers were locked in and I could see the stags’ breath as they gave it all they had. Everything around seemed to stand still. Everything was silent, other than the noise from the battle. The conditions were perfect. Misty, dull, cool and damp but it felt almost like we were in a movie until the reality of nature’s battle to survive hit home. One stag finally turned and fled, limping as he retreated. Before long he sat down in the grass, panting heavily, exhausted from battle. The victor stood there in all his glory. With the mist and hinds in the background, he roared away, announcing his victory to all his challengers.
Absolutely Amazing
The time I spent with the Red Deer has been absolutely amazing, I enjoyed every second regardless of the time or weather conditions. I feel privileged to have these animals so close to me and to witness their power and struggle in their constant battle to be at the top. These are wild animals at their most aggressive time of the year so please be aware of that if you see them in the wild and give them the space and respect they deserve.
View Mark’s video of his experience of Red Deer in Rutting Season:
About the author:
Mark Roberts is a YouTuber and blogger who focusses on his outdoor interests as a wild cooking enthusiast and wilderness adventurer. He is passionate about the outdoors and thrives by continually pushing himself with new adventures and outdoor pursuits. As a Beaver Scout Leader he is very keen in encouraging children to get outside by teaching them outdoor bushcraft, survival and mountaineering skills. Mark lives his life by the the quote ‘Explore, Dream, Discover’.
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