September’s song, the primeval roaring of the
Red Deer stags, echoes loud and clear across
the Highland glens. This is the rut, when the
biggest and strongest stags claim their hinds
and fight to defend them with unflinching
ferocity. Innes MacNeill, Head Ranger at
the Alladale Wildlife Reserve in Sutherland,
describes the unforgettable highlight of his
Highland year.
magine a great pride of lions roaring in triumph
I
on the Serengeti. The air vibrates and the very
ground seems to tremble. Now, imagine that
same fearful, deep-throated sound amplified a
thousand times and you begin to have some inkling
of the primeval rumble that surrounds us here at
Alladale in Autumn. Red Deer have been in Scotland
since the end of the last Ice Age, 10,000 years ago,
and they’re now, far and away, the largest land
mammals in Britain. With hundreds of red-blooded
stags all responding to the rising demands of their
masculinity, the din of their challenging bellows can
be deafening. The old stalkers say the first roar in the
glen generally coincides with the first frost. There’s no
doubt some truth in that, but I think there’s probably a
lot more to it than a sudden drop in temperature. It’s as
if an unseen hand suddenly throws a switch and sets in
motion the overwhelming urge that lies at the heart of
all Nature: the desire mate, to reproduce, to perpetuate
life itself. The first roar is generally heard between the
ninth and the twelfth of September and from that
moment it’s on for young and old alike. By September
20 the glen sounds like a non-stop cattle market.
Although Red Deer hinds remain sexually receptive
for up to two months, the high point of their fertility
lasts for only seven or eight hours and it’s then that
the biggest and strongest stags are at their busiest. A
dominant stag will serve between 20 and 40 hinds
if he’s given a chance, but on average his tally is
generally in the order of 15 to 20. He will also spend
much of his time and precious energy fending off the
aggressive advances of other males.
We have around 600 hinds and about 300 stags
on Alladale’s 23,000 acres, but the rut is all about the
survival of the fittest and only the biggest and best
of them get to play the mating game. The smaller,
weaker knobbers, the year-old stags, spend a good
Innes MacNeill
deal of time looking longingly at the hinds and sizing
up the bigger stags, but most of the youngsters wisely
decide not to risk injury and simply walk away. Their
turn will come. When bigger, more aggressive stags
do clash there’s almost always a test of strength. They
lock horns, stand toe-to-toe and push against each
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