THE RED DEER CIRCLE OF LIFE
Lisa Trowse
Through the early morning autumnal mists, an eerie roar reverberates through the damp air. Shortly after, an echoing call responds. The red deer stags (cervus elaphus) are filled with testosterone, ready to compete for females. It is rutting season. After discovering photography during covid, I developed a passion for wildlife and being outdoors. I find it very relaxing to be out walking in nature, and, living near to Bushy Park in SW London, I spend a lot of my time there.
I love to sit observing the behaviour of the deer, learning their little nuances. They can be very unpredictable and travel at speed, so I use a 150-600mm sigma telephoto zoom lens with my Canon EOS90D DSLR to keep a safe distance. The rut is popular with photographers who travel all over the country to watch the spectacle. Hence, I feel very privileged to have the park on my doorstep and the accessibility to see the rut develop. As part of the rutting ritual, the stags adorn their antlers with leaves and branches to improve their stature and wallow in mud filled with faeces and urine, to coat themselves in a smell to attract the females and bring them into oestrus ready for mating. Competing males parallel walk to assess the size and strength of their opponents.
At this point they decide whether to walk away or fight. The clash of antlers is deafening and the battle fast paced. The fights can often end in serious injury or even death. The females are gathered together by the strongest males into a harem. Lesser males will try and mate with straying hinds or take their chances as the stronger stags tire. In late spring and early summer, the females give birth. Another opportunity to capture the beauty of the red deer, completing the circle of life. Bushy Park is part of the Royal Parks charity.
This article first appeared in PRISMA, Issue 6.