THE RED DEER 
indigenous in the British Islands, where in pre-historic times and for long 
afterwards it was abundant in the vast forests covering the face of the land. 
The chase of the Stag formed one of the favourite pastimes of the 
Norman Kings and their followers, who reserved large tracts of country 
in which they could indulge in the sport, and where the deer and other 
wild animals were protected under the cruel forest law. 
A few Red Deer still linger in the New Forest, and many more 
among the moors and woodlands of North Devon and Somerset. Some 
also remain in Westmorland, besides numerous herds living under semi- 
feral conditions, or in parks. According to Mr. Millais {Mammals of Great 
Britain and Ireland, vol. iii. p. 109), thirty-one parks and more than 
seventy hays (small enclosures) are mentioned in Domesday Book as exist- 
ing at the time, and of these only one remains to-day, namely, Eridge Park 
(Reredfelle) in Sussex, the property of Lord Abergavenny. 
In Scotland, north of the Forth and Clyde, deer forests are numerous, 
the land under deer having increased enormously since the beginning of 
the nineteenth century, until at one time the territory given over to these 
animals stretched almost from sea to sea across parts of northern Scotland. 
Since the late war, however, much of this wild country has been 
utilized for the grazing of sheep. 
To those who have been privileged to watch the Red Deer among 
the glens and hills of Scotland, or to hear his wild and far-reaching 
notes of defiance as he challenges some rival, nothing else would seem 
to fit in so well with the spirit of his surroundings as this fine animal, 
whose form is a model of strength and elegance. 
One wonders at his stoutness of heart and untiring muscles as he 
breasts some hill without a pause with his long swinging stride. 
The breeding season begins in October, and after this the sexes 
separate and keep more or less apart till the following autumn. 
