The Living Forest (170) : Red Deer

The Living Forest (170) : Red Deer

The King of the Forest !

It’s early autumn, in the forest the mating ritual of the Red Deer, called the rut, has begun again.

Mature stags (males) compete for the attentions of the hinds (females) with a very distinctive and loud "roar" that can be heard for miles around in the forest.
The hinds are initially attracted to those stags that both roar most often and have the loudest roar call.
Males also use the roar call when competing with other males for females during the rut, and along with other forms of posturing and antler fights, is a method used by the stags to establish dominance.

There is a relative great place (150 ha) in the ‘Hertogenwald’ (2nd greatest forest of Belgium) where Red Deer are kept in half freedom. The reserve itself is not open to the public, unless……. the local forester is your friend (yeah, I know I’m a lucky guy).

It was real magic standing face to face to this noble animal !

Dutch name : Edelhert
German name : Rothirsch
Latin name : Cervus elaphus