THE RED DEER 
found, was a mass of wounds. I think it is entirely the fault of the keeper 
when a Red stag becomes dangerous in a park and an accident happens, 
because Red deer never become savage suddenly. It is always a gradual 
process. When a stag in a park refuses to move out of the way, shows the 
whites of his eyes and lowers his ears at the approach of a man, it should 
be killed at once; such a deer is becoming dangerous, and if allowed to 
live will do mischief, for a stag which has lost his fear of man is as dan- 
gerous as a lion. 
All deer, however, vary greatly in disposition. Hinds and heviers are 
generally gentle, whilst only a few exhibit a savage disposition, especially 
if they have ever been teased by children. On the other hand, we have the 
singular case of a stag, free but in a park, which was gentle in its behaviour 
towards man at any season of the year. The late Sir Douglas Brooke told 
me that even in the height of the rut he would walk up to this stag at 
Colebrooke, and sent me a photograph, in proof of this, of the stag’s head 
taken at the distance of one yard in October. This, however, must be con- 
sidered a rare exception to the rule. 
One yearling stag which Sir Douglas gave to a farmer living near his 
property chased all the cows away, came into the house and turned every- 
body out, smashed all the china he could see and ate up the potatoes which 
had been put ready for dinner. In consequence he was returned to Cole- 
brooke for a few days, but created such havoc there that he was promptly 
dispatched to the Dublin Zoological Gardens. 
In our islands Red deer have few enemies except man. Foxes and Golden 
Eagles frequently kill the calves, but even these predatory creatures have 
to exercise all their cunning and boldness to escape the watchful eyes 
and the powerful forelegs of the hind mothers. Eagles, in fact, seldom kill 
them, though they often try to do so, and when seen feeding on the carcase 
of a young deer it is more likely that the calf has died a natural death or 
been killed by a fox, for the Bird of Jove is not too proud to make a meal 
of any carrion he can find. The fox gets his opportunity by using his nose, 
for there are times when the hind is absent or feeding at some short dis- 
tance from her calf, and then he finds it in its form and quickly rushes in 
and breaks its neck. It does not then matter as far as he is concerned 
whether the hind returns or not, for he will retire till nightfall, when the 
mother has deserted the dead calf, and commence his meal, probably bring- 
ing others to the feast. Eagles are popularly supposed to attack hinds 
when they are traversing narrow and slippery ledges, but in most cases 
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