Red deer rutting season
The rutting season in red deer runs approximately from mid-September to early October. In deer, hormones cause some changes in appearance. The hair around the neck grows and the throat pouch expands. To impress the ladies, it takes mud baths extra often and urinates against its own belly. To back it up verbally, the sound a deer can make has changed: he can now burl. Competitors can not only see and smell, but also hear who is or thinks he is in charge there.
I took this photo in the early morning of Oct. 11 then it is almost the end of the rutting season. The deer have pretty much fought their battle. The strongest managed to win over the hinds. A little further on slightly larger red deer were still busy fighting. This deer seemed well aware of that and kept a close eye on it. He had a couple of hinds by his side that he probably wanted to keep far away from. Nice to see the interaction from an observation hut.
Inspired by the beauty of nature. Finding the quality of life in the small things around me. Capture precious moments in pixels.. Read more…