- 1 Elaphine Group 



the numbers and distribution of which are determined chiefly by conditions 

 of food and weather. In summer, with fine weather and abundant food, 

 deer are scattered all over the ground in small parties and at high eleva- 

 tions ; in winter, when food is scarce and the weather severe, they shift to 

 lower levels, are more concentrated, and seek sheltered places. Hinds have 

 a strong homing instinct and seldom leave the ground where they are bred ; 

 but stags are great travellers and exhibit a twofold migratory impulse, 

 namely, a general shift from summer to winter quarters, and a special shift 

 from summer quarters to the accustomed pairing-ground, the same places, 

 however, being sought at the same season year by year. Deer take the sea 

 fearlessly and swim strongly, stags introduced into Hoy Island, Orkney, 

 having swum southwards to the coast of Sutherland, and northwards as far 

 as the Bav of Skail, in the Mainland of Orkney, in either case a distance, 

 as the crow flies, of eight miles. Hill deer, like wood deer, feed in the 

 morning and evening and rest during the day. They are dainty feeders, 

 requiring a wide range for their support, since they neither bite closely on 

 a limited area like sheep, nor tear coarse herbage with the aid of a pliant 

 tongue like cattle, but pick here and there, nipping the tender tops of 

 plants that suit them, and moving forward all the time to fresh places. 

 The appetite of both sexes for bones and antlers, which they grind with 

 the cheek-teeth, is a familiar fact, as is also their taste for sea-weed, of 

 which sea-coast deer partake freely, while not a few stags frequenting 

 inland districts make periodical journeys to the coast for its sake. High 

 ground affords the sweetest pasturage, and deer that dwell habitually on 

 the hill-tops make the best venison. It is a habit of deer, though probably 

 not an invariable one, to drink before feeding. Stags accustomed to herd 

 together exhibit a strong affection for their companions, living in perfect 

 harmony, and being always under a recognised leadership, but whether of 

 the oldest or heaviest stag cannot be determined. Hinds are less cere- 

 monious, more independent, and occasionally quarrelsome, often fighting 

 with their fore feet, and rearing straight up on their hind legs. 

 Although not specially keen-sighted, red deer have their senses of smell 

 and hearing acute. Hence, when disturbed or travelling, they always 

 move to windward, and when resting their favourite position is on the 

 lee side of sloping or rising ground, just below the ridge or crest, facing 

 the landscape with the wind in their backs. Stags that have been shot at, 



