It’s rutting season which means stags in national parks across the country lock horns and do battle to gain the attention and affections of female hinds. IN order to understand this mating ritual a little better, we sent our own young buck Henry McKean to Phoenix Park to investigate

Listen to the full podcast here:

 

Henry goes to meet the stags

Terry Moore Deer Ranger at Phoenix Park told me it's the peak of the Rutt, The male Bucks are filled with testosterone, their necks swell and they make a belching groaning sound, males get into battle all day long, when I got there 3 males were fighting, the dominate bucks gets to mate with nearly all the females , the female chooses the strongest, heaviest loudest best head, so she can pass on strong genes.

Henry and Terry got up close and personal to the rutting stags

 

Terry Moore Deer Ranger

They have been there 350 years since 1662 introduced by the Duke of Ormond in 1662. The bucks lose a quarter of there bodyweight at this time of year. There are over 500 of them and if their not culled and end up on your plate in restaurants we could be overrun with  Deer.

It the stags don’t have a good set of antlers or a big head they're more likely to be unsuccessful. Henry got up really close so they didn’t even noticed him; all they can think about is mating..

Henry met a smaller deer who looked like Bambi who doesn’t get a look in with the ladies

At one point Henry got a bit too close to a buck who charged at him

Here's some facts that Henry learned about rutting season

-This year deer are bigger than ever because we had a good summer, so plenty of food. They can lose quarter of their body weight during rutting season, some die from exhaustion, they are only at the top of their game for 2 years, then someone stronger will take over

-They trash trees and dig up the park leaving their smell behind for the female deer.

-Something Henry didn't know;antlers fall off in April and grow back by August, the first set are small and then they get bigger and stronger every year.

-There are 3 different types of Deer in Ireland.

-The big deer have the confidence of George Hook, the belief of Ivan Yeats and the self assurance of Chris Donoghue, going for all the ladies not just one. There have been over 4 traffic collisions in the park this week, not even a Volvo which are designed to take a reindeer to the windscreen can't handle the impact.

-Red deer are bigger, you get them in Killarney and Donegal and are 100 kilos heavier

-Henry took organic carrots from the OPW garden meant for Michael D Higgins and we fed them to the deer.

-The Bucks Antlers are twice as big as the females does antlers.