Camouflage

The light was fading fast as I drove home this evening, two fallow deer crossed the lane in front of me, then waited in the thicket for more to follow.

I stopped the car, turned off the lights, wound down the window and took this shot before they headed deeper into the dense woodland.

The Fallow deer we see locally originate from the Ashridge Estate and they are much darker in colour and lack the spotted coat most commonly associated with this breed. It is said that were selectively bred to eliminate the spots, when Ashridge was a monastery with a small deer park, providing an ample supply of meat for the monks.

Since the 13th C the deer have escaped the park and roam throughout the surrounding countryside.

Numbers are now so high that the deer are under stress from lack of food, the high volume of people using the estate for leisure and the increase in traffic related accidents. As awful as it may sound, an annual cull takes place in order to keep the herd healthy and several stalkers are on call 24 / 7 to dispatch injured deer.

These deer were in good health, but they look a bit moth-eaten as they are currently losing their winter coats.