Susy Smith celebrates the drama of the rutting season

hen I first visited England from my hometown of Belfast as a teenager, I was impressed by many things, not least the awe-inspiring array of fashion stores on London’s Carnaby Street! But the memory that has really stayed with me was a drive through Richmond Park, on the outskirts. The extraordinary experience of being on a busy, shop-lined road one minute, and the next, passing through a gate into a parallel world of ancient trees, swaying grasses and seemingly wild, natural beauty, left a lasting impression. What astonished me most was seeing deer grazing there, apparently oblivious to the people and slow-moving procession of cars passing through. I’d never seen a deer in real life and here they were in the unlikeliest of places, on the edge of one of Europe’s biggest cities.

In the ensuing years, I moved to live in the area and, aside from 11 years bringing up my young daughters in the countryside, I have remained here, in the locality between Richmond and Bushy, the two largest Royal Parks that together cover 3,500 acres. I visit both regularly, in the past always with a dog, now mostly with friends. These are remarkable places where one can walk for miles, relishing a sense of space and freedom on the fringes of the city. They serve as valuable nature reserves, too, their huge oak trees – some up to 800 years old – supporting thousands of wildlife species, including birds, bats and insects.

The red and fallow deer that graze here are the descendants of hunting herds created by Henry VIII and Charles I in the 16th and 17th centuries. It is a privilege to watch these beautiful creatures, particularly in early summer when the speckled fawns are born, and in autumn when the ‘rut’ is in full swing and the red stags and fallow bucks compete for females. The red stags, weighing in at around 158kg, charged with testosterone and sporting full heads of magnificent antlers, fight violent battles, some of which will result in injury and even death for the combatants. They are on constant patrol to see off rivals: the air echoes with their deep, raw bellowing for several weeks as they mark out their territory.

There is, however, a problem: the number of visitors to the parks is growing every year and sadly some will inevitably venture too close. Keen to get a better look, or to capture a photograph, people often cause the deer immense stress and inhibit their natural behaviour. They also put themselves at great risk. The deer can be unpredictable, sometimes charging unexpectedly: people have been gored, cars battered and dogs killed by stags. Dogs off the lead often chase the deer and can set whole herds running in blind panic across the park, disregarding the roads, cars and people who may get in the way.

Spring marks a particularly stressful and vulnerable season for the females, who are in a constant state of high alert for perceived predators as they move off to give birth in the grass and bracken. They will protect their young ferociously. On this, I can speak from experience, having been attacked by an angry deer when my two dogs were off the lead and disturbed the doe and her fawn in the undergrowth. She charged at me several times, almost knocking me off my feet. Eventually I managed to get myself and the dogs hunkered down behind a fallen tree trunk and we were able to walk swiftly away.

It was a terrifying experience. Heaven knows what it must be like to be hit by a stag charging at 30 miles an hour – one of the park managers compares it to being hit by a motorbike. I was completely in the wrong and stupidly unaware of the ways of the parks. I’m much more sensible these days, fully conscious of the rules the park’s authorities have implemented: to protect young deer and their mothers, dogs must be kept on leads from May to July, and during the rutting season from September to November, dog walkers are advised to avoid the parks altogether. Maps are published on the websites, highlighting potential deer-birthing spots, so dog walkers can plan their route in advance and avoid these. And throughout the year, everyone is encouraged to keep a minimum of 50 metres away from the animals.

An award-winning short film made with David Attenborough, a local resident for 60 years, can be found on the Friends of Richmond Park website (frp.org.uk). In it, Sir David celebrates all that is wonderful about the parks but also issues a plea: that we all work to ensure these special spaces remain a haven for the cherished wildlife within them. For it is this, after all, that we have come to see.