An Autumn Stag Spectacular

Autumn brings the evocative sights and sounds of the red deer rut to the League Against Cruel Sports’ wildlife reserves. This ancient spectacle stirs powerful primal emotions that are usually kept buried in our busy modern lives.

October sees stags return to the wildlife reserves in numbers to compete for the chance to breed and pass on their genes to the next generation. The big mature stags are capable of holding a large harem of female hinds under their control, but younger stags hang around on the periphery hoping for the opportunity to steal in undetected if the older stags drop their guard. This game of life is punctuated with strutting stags parading their prowess and letting forth deep guttural roars. Disagreements are usually settled without incident. Only occasionally do these encounters result in fights between even matched stags but when they do the effects can sometimes be fatal.

We were very pleased to welcome League supporters to the Baronsdown wildlife reserve on two days during the peak of the rut to witness the spectacle for themselves and to learn more about the work that the League does. The rain held off on both days and despite the (unseasonably) mild weather everyone was able to see the deer at close quarters from the League’s Land Rover and to get a snapshot of the activities. Visitors were also treated to a sumptuous vegan lunch and a convivial chat, as well as a walk around the old Baronsdown gardens to see some of the amazing fungi and lichen that grow there and to hear about the incredible interactions between species. It was inspiring to talk to like-minded people who are doing positive actions for animals and wildlife in general. We look forward to doing it all again this time next year.