Red Deer Cervus elaphus in Richmond Park London UK
Britain's largest land-mammal. Summer coat is reddish brown to brown, winter coat is brown to grey. No spots present in adult coat. Large, highly branched antlers in the stag (male).The breeding season, or rut, occurs from the end of September to November. Stags return to hind's home range and compete for access to hinds by engaging in elaborate displays of dominance including roaring, parallel walks and fighting. Origins & history. Red deer migrated into Britain from Europe 11000 years ago. They were used extensively by Mesolithic man as a source of food, skins and tools (bones and antlers). Neolithic man developed agriculture and cleared swathes of forest to make way for fields. This loss of forest encouraged the decline of red deer populations, which became confined to the Scottish Highlands, south-west England and a few other small, scattered populations. The Normans protected red deer in parks and "forests" for royal hunting
Size: 5363px × 3444px
Location: Richmond Park London UK
Photo credit: © Ernie Janes / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: animal, animals, autumn, breath, breed, breeding, call, cold, dawn, deer, early, femals, forests, harem, herd, hinds, large, london, male, mammal, mammals, mate, morning, nature, noisy, park, reddish-brown, richmond, roar, royal, ruminants, rut, rutting, season, seasonal, stag, stags, wild
