Red Stag Rut Wild

In the south of England lies the New Forest.

A glorious swathe of ancient woodland.

In autumn, these magical woodlands

echo with sounds that evoke a prehistoric atmosphere.

CREATURES CALL

This is the time of the red deer rut.

STAG ROARS

STAG ROARS

It's September in the New Forest.

Autumn hasn't really arrived yet

but already, groups of female red deer, or hinds, are on the move.

There are about 120 red deer in the forest

with roughly 15 or 16 mature stags.

For most of the year, they roam the forest in separate herds.

But every autumn, for a few short weeks,

the rut brings the stags and hinds together.

Young calves, which would have been born back in June,

can be seen amongst the herd.

They're clingy youngsters, suckling for up to seven months.

This helps to get them through their first winter.

With the arrival of October, the first stags appear on the scene,

joining the hinds prior to the rut.

By this time of year, the levels of male hormones in their bodies

start to go through the roof.

This has an effect on their appearance.

They have become more bulky around the neck with increased musculature

to support their antlers during the rut.

The eldest stags have developed a kind of shaggy mane,

not dissimilar to a male lion.

STAG ROARS

And just like a lion,

these males want everyone to know who's king of the forest.

Nearly 1,000 years ago,

William the Conqueror wanted to keep the pleasure of hunting deer

to himself so he created the New Forest.

Before then, the whole area was just a rough, barren heath land.

So if it wasn't for a past king's love of deer,

there wouldn't be a forest here at all.

By mid October, the weather is still unseasonably warm.

Usually the rut would be well and truly under way by now

but the stags don't seem to be bothered.

They're almost lethargic - just sitting around in the heat.

They're staying close to the hinds,

waiting for them to come into season.

But until the weather becomes cooler, this will not happen.

At times, the males seem frustrated,

taking it out on trees or raking the ground with their antlers.

It's November in the forest

and the first frosty mornings mean autumn has finally arrived.

The cooler weather has sparked the deer into action.

Dominant stags have taken control of their hareem of up to 20 hinds.

STAG ROARS

STAG ROARS LOUDLY

Scent marking is a way of enforcing dominance

and roaring wards off the younger, inexperienced competitors.

SHORT ROAR

But if the stags are more equally matched, roaring is not enough.

Each stag weighs around 400lbs.

The sheer force of such a clash of heavyweights is immense.

There is NO holding back.

The rut shows off Britain's largest land dwelling mammal

at its most impressive.

ANTLERS CRASH

Depending on the size of the two stags involved,

these battles can be epic.

Basically, the bigger the stag, the bigger the fight.

The challenge ends

when one stag is pushed backwards over a long distance.

At this point he seem to know the wrestling match is lost

and turns to run away from the victor.

Herding the hinds to keep them safely under control,

a dominant male is kept so busy that he hardly eats.

In fact, throughout the rut,

stags can lose up to 20% of their body weight.

This can take a real toll on them

if they are not in the peak of condition from the start.

STAG ROARS

As the hinds come into season, the stags claim their prize.

The strongest males pass on their genes

ensuring that the forest's red deer population remains strong and fit.

But there is a twist in this tale of the red stag rut.

In some parts of the New Forest, Japanese sika deer can be found.

They escaped from captivity

and established themselves in the wild over the last century or so.

Although these deer are much smaller than the reds,

sika stags are large enough to mate with red deer hinds.

In a few regions of the UK, this has caused problems

as the hybrids produced look just like red deer

and are also able to breed.

The purity of red deer in some areas is already questionable.

But, thankfully, the sika of the New Forest

seem to keep themselves to themselves.

So, for now, the red deer that roam these woodlands remain purebred.

With the end of the rut,

most hinds will now be carrying next year's calves.

The stags and hinds once again separate

and will remain apart until next year's rut.

The red stags are without doubt the most majestic animals

we have in this country.

They have survived an ice age and man's constant hunting.

Hopefully, they will continue to thrive

and the remarkable sights and sounds of the red deer rut

will echo through these ancient woods for centuries to come.

Subtitles by Christina Clark Red Bee Media Ltd 2005

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