The Red Deer ( Cervus elaphus )

The most iconic symbol of wild open places and the British countryside, the red stag high on a hill top roaring during the rut conjures up memories of Narnia and childhood fairy tales. Their place in the history of mankind can be traced as far back as 7,000 years and Neolithic cave dwellers, who decorated the inside of their caves with paintings depicting a Stag in full antlers. The deer has been subjected to man`s attentions not as a source of food but since the medieval period as a hunting quarry.

The Stag or Hart is know for its magnificent set of antlers which are grown yearly, starting in the spring and for the purpose of mating during the autumn they are then shed during the winter so the whole process can start again the following year. During the growth period of the antlers ( which can be as rapid as an 1″ a day) they are covered in a velvet and a mature male can produce as much as 10lb of velvet each year which is vigorously rubbed off the antlers during the rut display obviously stimulated by an increase in hormones.