Red deer are of course red. Well, the coat is a beautiful reddish brown when in the peak of condition, from midsummer to the end of autumn. It's quite a different story during winter and spring. Obviously the coat thickens to deal with the cold giving a grey appearance which is nowhere near as sleek looking. During the period of antler shedding there's a general moult leaving small piles of fur and fluff visible.
So what was to be made of the sight of a black stag on Bole Hill? The light was dim and misty and the deer looked small on the hillside some distance away but there was no mistaking the fact that one stag was a quite different colour to the others. Binoculars confirmed this.
No solution to this apart from some creative deduction: In one or two places near the stream we have seen signs that deer have been rolling in the mud. It must be a genuine pleasure to them at a time when there's so much irritation caused by the moult. And no antlers to get in the way.
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