Once the antlers are free of velvet and in final form you can see stags using them for shows of strength. This may involve a sideswipe at a tree on passing or a short practice tussle with a fellow in the herd. It is not far from the rutting period and hormones are beginning to affect behaviour in the groups of stags who may have browsed together amicably enough during the year so far. The youngest tends to get short shrift with his simplified headgear and quickly learns that the heavier beasts are at another level of seriousness in asserting their position.
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