Understanding Deer Management - The Female Species
Girls, girls, girls
The gender that controls the species.
Its long been understood that the key to effective deer management lies with the female of the species.....whatever the species may be. For many of us who have the opportunity to "manage" deer on our own patch, the temptation is to overlook this and focus our stalking effort on the boys; often to the point where we get over sentimental when dealing with the girls and their dependent young. However, there is a danger in such a approach, as it can lead to the threat of overpopulation and all the problems associated with it.
The UK has experienced a period of sustained expansion in all six of its resident deer species over the past half century. Where they were common, they now have become more so. Where they were rare, they are often now common, and in many cases where they didn't exist they have now become established. While the cause of this change is complex with many facets, one of the major factors can be found in the way in which poorly controlled female populations have expanded. It can be difficult at times to get your head around how quickly large animals like deer get established and exploit niches in our countryside. Yet exploit them they do, and like other successful larger mammals, for example the fox, they find themselves in situations where men's tolerance of them decreases rapidly and they get cast into the role of potential public enemies.
As recreational stalkers and deer managers we can all play a major role in reducing the worst effects of this, But to be successful we need to manage in a planned way, and stick to our cull targets each season.
The strategies we need to use depend on the species we are involved with, as well as the location and environment. Leaving aside the multiple birthed Chinese Water Deer, our other deer (apart from the Roe), normally are single birthed. The larger three, Red, Sika and Fallow need to achieve a critical body mass before they join the ranks of the breeding herd, and thus do need a degree of physical maturity. The two smaller, Roe and Muntjac will become mothers more quickly, in the case of the Muntjac, very quickly. If you sit down and think about Roe, its simple to see how unchecked, one will become three after a year. How the three can become seven or even nine after two years, and so on. Now before any mathematicians jump in and say "poppycock" or something similar, yes naturally mortality will rear its head along with traffic accidents and a myriad other causes and effects. However, there are occasions when fate will favour the deer and away we go. Oh and remember all the claims of triplet births in Roe we hear about every year!
As well as understanding how deer breeding cycles operate, It helps to have a good picture of the social lives of the animals. Broadly young animals will cycle first, some species like Roe have only one oestrous cycle while others, like Red Deer, will cycle every 18 days if not mated. While Roe Bucks are largely solitary and will hold territories, the Doe's have home ranges which essentially are larger and in general they are more gregarious. The larger species, out-with the rut, spend most of their time in same sex groups, and Red and Sika hinds are like domestic hill sheep hefted to home areas. Understanding and using this knowledge enables us to build up not only an accurate picture of the number of deer on our patch but gives us a means of deciding on what the cull target should be and when we should take it. It also gives a pointer when numbers are reaching problematic levels which need to be addressed.
So ultimately have a plan and stick to it, try not to be like the estate owner who asked for advice, about what to do with too many hinds. When asked why it had become a problem he thought for a while then said ; "Well its all down to the stalker. He's not let us shoot any hinds for the last 15 years, he says if we do it I'll endanger the population".......Really?
