Taking Responsibility

Outside the rut stags can be pretty laid back and rarely put on a show of protectiveness. Hinds and their young are usually left to sort out their own problems. Once an excitable dog approached a mixed group and the stag looked on little interested, leaving the senior hind to stamp and exert some discipline: at which the dog turned and wandered off, reproved.

This morning  I disturbed the hind and calf.. The stag then appeared  looking distinctly annoyed.

These 'family groups' are something of a puzzle. During the rut not long ago there were as many as twelve hinds. Small groups like this have been a feature in previous years. Seeing them like this leads one to assume that they are as seems, though they are never likely to go through a legal determination of parentage.