Overgrazing

Vested interests of the shooting industry contrive to keep too many deer in the Scottish Highlands and the pictures here reveal just how that prevents ecological restoration. It explains the lack of trees.

https://twitter.com/bobgreid/status/808402246744625154

There are various ways the gamekeepers ensure a high stock of animals always to be available for the shooters including winter feeding. Similarly the over management for one species on grouse moors. Our small numbers of deer on and around Blacka have little impact. Here it's the imported sheep and cattle that are preventing restoration. Sheep numbers until recently were ridiculously high because of the way the subsidies worked. Even now there are just too many to allow a natural vegetation to develop. A more balanced vegetation will only come if we have more balanced wild animals and that means predators alongside the grazers and browsers.

Red deer spend much of their  time in small groups, or even solitary. But sometimes large numbers get together as in this picture. That seems to be mostly in open treeless landscapes. Why? Could it be that in woodland they are less exposed and don't feel the need for safety in numbers? There could be other explanations. Even an opposite one. Would they gather in this way if predators were a significant threat? Bring in the wolves and let's see!