Raw But Aloof

No view of deer this morning in the farmland beside Whitelow Lane. But four stags did put in an appearance on familiar territory on Blacka Hill. Cattle were already there grazing but the stags showed commendable disdain, heads in the air. I'm sure they would have held their noses if it had been anatomically possible. It is hard to guess if they would have stayed on the moor had the cattle had not been in occupation. I think it likely.



But instead they were quickly over the wire fence and off to the top end of the sheep enclosure, soon to clear the next fence and off to places where no cattle graze (yet). The change in weather will have led to the deer feeling the need to move on to other parts.

The red blood on the antlers is striking and can be rather shocking when you see it for the first time. It somehow adds to the sense of otherness that is still present with truly wild animals. It's possible that many people do not realise that this is merely the peeling membrane that has been covering and nourishing the growing antlers, and is then no longer needed. I wonder if people in some ancient communities may have invented stories in which red deer figure as potentially fierce foes. I think any attitude shown by these beasts was more typically exhibited in their aristocratic contempt for the rude proletarian cattle. But it does give us an alternative reason for them being red deer.