34 8 HOOFED ANIMALS 



The Red Deer is gregarious, but the males and females 

 keep apart except during the pairing season, which com- 

 mences about the end of September, when the herds break 

 up into a number of families, each consisting of several 

 females and one male. At this period the harts become 

 dangerous, which is one of the reasons why Red Deer are 

 seldom chosen to roam in a semi-domesticated state in 

 parks and other places frequented by foot passengers. 

 Even in captivity the hart can seldom be approached with 

 safety. In the forests and uplands the males engage in 

 savage conflicts, antlers are frequently broken, and some- 

 times they get interlocked, and can only be released by a 

 forester. 



The hind usually conceals her fawn in the heather, where 

 the little creature will lie motionless until one nearly steps 

 upon it. Though the mother is apparently absent, she is 

 within sight of her offspring, and will rush to guard it 

 against a wild cat, fox, or other hungry carnivore. 



In Scotland the Red Deer is killed chiefly by driving or 

 stalking ; but with rifles of long range and the utmost pre- 

 cision the chase is not so arduous as it was in olden times. 

 Being a capital swimmer, a stag, when hard pressed, will 

 take to either lake or stream in the hope of defeating the 

 pursuing hounds, which are chiefly used in the chase in 

 Devonshire. It is a stirring sight to see a stag at bay 

 upon a rock in the midst of the water, making angry 

 sweeps with his antlers that bid a whole pack give pause, 

 until, alas ! the fatal rifle-shot puts an end to the gallant 

 struggle. 



In Devonshire no less than two hundred and seventy-five 

 Deer were killed in the five years ending 1892; but since that 

 time the numbers of the Deer increased to such an extent 

 as to cause an outcry on the part of the farmers, whose 

 crops suffered from the ravages of the roaming herds. In 

 1905 as many as three hundred and seventy Deer were 

 killed by the five packs of hounds that hunt the Exmoor 

 and adjacent districts, which did something towards 

 reducing the numbers of the Deer to reasonable pro- 

 portions. 



Let it be granted that there may be two opinions con- 



