32 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE RED DEER 



animals feel the desire to reproduce their kind. The 

 acquisition of a harem is therefore a question of 

 strength and determination. A two-year-old stag is 

 capable of begetting stock, but of course would not 

 be tolerated in the neighbourhood of a master stag. 

 Even the full-grown stags are often severely gored by 

 their rivals, the neck and sides being the chief points 

 assailed. It is not unusual for stags to fight so long 

 and obstinately that eventually the weaker animal 

 succumbs to his injuries. The hinds submit to the 

 overtures of the conqueror, and take no part in the 

 affray of their lord and master. At the opening 

 of the rutting time the necks of the stags swell, and 

 their voices become hoarse. 



The precise date at which rutting begins cannot 

 be defined in an arbitrary way. Blasius considers 

 that the veteran stags separate their consorts at 

 the end of August. In Martindale, the hinds are 

 accustomed to take the stag from about the 2oth 

 of October to the beginning of December. This 

 is perhaps later than the prevailing experience, but 

 it is impossible to generalise safely. Bell says that 

 the red-deer hind goes with young eight months 

 and a few days. Jackson has told me, on different 

 occasions, that seven months is the period of 

 gestation ; but he is no doubt mistaken as to this. 



