Stalking: patience pays during the rut
Jon Snowdon and his team encountered more than they bargained for on a recent stalking excursion
Ihave talked about the capricious nature of the rut but I can say that this year it has been full on and is still running. The team at Greenlee is in close communication with each other, passing on information in reports following an outing and sometimes during it. This information is an important part of estimating the deer population and helps us achieve the aims of our management plan. Every member is clear on what can and cannot be shot — and if there is any doubt they do not squeeze the trigger.
It is a pleasure to work with a group of people with such integrity and commitment to the work, and make no mistake it is hard work.
Nervous
Joe, a member of the team, reported that a small youngster had been pushed out to a small section of the estate by the larger bucks holding territory around him. The poor youngster was pretty thin and extremely nervous — wouldn’t you be with the roebuck equivalent of Arnold Schwarzenegger on one side and Dwayne Johnson on the other?
Joe had sighted the buck on two outings but had found it difficult to approach due to it being so alert and nervous. But he persevered. Being selective in the cull is what good deer management is all about, the aim always being to improve the quality of the herd while reducing the population to sustainable levels.
Dean, another colleague, had already turned down two bucks, telling me that one had so much potential it was better leaving it for at least another year. One of sightings he will not forget in a hurry. At first he spotted a pair of ears in the cover and watched a beautiful roe doe get up and stand perfectly still. He was astounded to see the size of the buck that nonchalantly stood up out of the cover next to her. He had the rare sight of the whole rutting process in front of his eyes.
His rifle was mounted and the safety disengaged but the sheer size of the buck stopped any further action in its tracks. This boy was off the cull list. I had seen this buck and he made an impression on Dean, if his colourful description of what he saw through his scope was anything to go by.
“The aim is always to improve the quality of the herd”
The evening outings had proved to be worthwhile. After texting to say I would pull out because I was in the same vicinity of Dean, he replied: “Pop in, got some news.” That could mean a number of things —
good or bad. As I drove into the field to meet Dean, and his dog Max, there was a buck with a large malformed head. He was old and in very poor condition, a perfect animal to remove. Dean said he looked as if he’d had enough of life. The wind was against Dean but the buck did not show any sign he had seen him as he stepped out 40m in front and was quickly despatched.
Worse for wear
The poor lad had grossly malformed antlers. A closer inspection back home revealed signs of infection just below the right pedicle and, after cutting the skull, it was obvious that this infection had been there for some considerable time, possibly years, as it had worked its way through the bone.
The head glands — submandibular and retropharyngeal — were perfectly normal, however, as were all of the other glands in the body, bronchial, mediastinal, portal and mesenteric. He was very thin, his incisors on his lower jaw were worn down to the gum. His other teeth were worn but I have seen worse. The problems with his teeth may well have been a factor in his poor condition.
Roe deer are ruminants and if they cannot browse and bite off those choice buds and leaves they will suffer. But by far the biggest struggle this boy was having was the infection. It was even penetrating the eye socket. What caused it can only be imagined: road traffic accident? Past rutting injury? In his day he would have been a stunner but we had never seen this buck in this condition. That did not surprise me; he must have been in dire straits and suffering for some time and keeping well out of the way of any trouble.
We returned to the area where Joe had told us he was going into a high seat, which overlooked the area he had seen the buck on each outing. As we stepped out of our vehicles we heard the shot and Joe confirmed it was him. The two selective culls fitted perfectly with our deer management plan. Joe was rewarded was for his selectivity and perseverance on the young buck, a poor specimen not doing well at all.
Dean had turned down two bucks — one with future promise, the other possibly one of the biggest bucks he will ever see — but was rewarded by removing an old warrior that was suffering so much he deserved to be put out of his plainly obvious misery.
My reward was simply being there.