MOUNTAIN MAMMALS 67 



at heart or belly with the lowest branch or "brow- 

 tine," which points forwards and upwards, or push- 

 ing with the antler as a whole. In the combats a 

 good deal of use is made of the hoofs, especially those 

 of the forefeet. It is hardly necessary to say that the 

 Red Deer may be very dangerous to man at the 

 breeding season (September and October). The 

 stags are greatly excited and roar loudly. Their 

 voice is said to carry about two miles, and it excites 

 both the hinds and rival stags. What each stag is 

 after is to attach to himself as many wives as pos- 

 sible and to keep intruders from interfering with his 

 herd and trying to lead some of them away. 



The fawn, usually only one, is born in May or June, 

 after the mother has carried it for about eight 

 months, and, as is the case with many Deer, it is 

 spotted. Sir Harry Johnston, in his "British Mam- 

 mals," tells us that : "The mother attends and defends 

 her fawn with the greatest care and bravery. She 

 teaches it to conceal itself instantly on the approach 

 of danger, the signal being generally a tap with the 

 forefoot." In the summer time the hinds and fawns 

 usually live apart from the stags, as we noticed in our 

 first study, and they are often to be found at much 

 lower levels. 



But how is the Red Deer adapted to the mountains 

 and moorland? They are fond of the grass that 

 grows in damp places among the heather; they can 

 also eat the shoots of the heather and some other 

 heath plants ; they keep a lookout for mushrooms and 

 other edible Fungi. But we suspect that the true 

 answer is that Red Deer are rather forest mammals 

 than mountain mammals, and that they have often a 



