Skull and Crossbones
This week, I’ve been finding pieces of deer whilst on my walks in the quarry.
First, a tufty tail on the path, next a well-chewed spine beside the path, then I noticed bits of fur stuck on the hawthorn’s…but the pièce de résistance was Leo bringing me a hind leg. Very proud he was too! Until I snatched it and tossed it away out of reach.
I suspect all the above bits were from a fallow deer struck by a car - a common enough occurrence, and died in the trees beside the road. There are no predators here, but plenty of hungry scavengers, including a handsome fox I’ve seen many times. There are badgers too, usually digging up a worm feast, perhaps they helped chew and distribute the carcass?
There is a small herd of fallow deer that rotate through the local quarries; I’ve seen them, heard them and we walk along the same muddy trails. A deer bolts across the trail and before I’ve had time to point my phone, all I get is its rear end. It’s too quick!
Melting into the undergrowth
They use a myriad of animal trails that criss-cross the main paths to perform their party trick: vanishing from sight when only a few feet away, by melting into the undergrowth and the brambles with their enormous, mean thorns.
These deer will be part of the herds that roam in Ashridge Estate, within reach along various trails that lead into the vast forest. These deer are a real feature of the landscape, but were once fenced in as the exclusive 13th century hunting right of the Medieval nobility and royalty. The deer were freed in 1925 when Ashridge House and estate were sold to the National Trust.
As they have no natural predators, their numbers have to be managed, and being picked off by cars racing along the dark country roads is certainly one method. The other is a managed cull which is what the National Trust do. They also repair and replant damaged trees and vegetation.
I’m not convinced I’ll find the skull anytime soon as the vegetation is bursting back into life to cover the woodland floor. Perhaps I’ll find it next winter?
