The Living Forest (29) : Red Deer

The Living Forest (29) : Red Deer

I made a 3 days hike in the ‘Hertogenwald’ (2nd greatest forest of Belgium).
In this forest there is a relative great place (150 ha) 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 man).

Early autumn, during the mating ritual, called the rut, mature stags (males) Red deers compete for the attentions of the hinds (females).
The stag has a very distinctive and loud "roar" during the rut and 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.

This is the 2nd picture of the magical moment I had standing face to face with a roaring Red Deer !

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

A big thanks to Vitória Castelo Santos for the kindly nomination of this picture.