Granddad’s Camera
Fallow deer, as it appears in the game

No.024 · Mammals · Common

Fallow deer

Dama dama

The spotted, palm-antlered deer of parks and forests, brought to England by the Normans. In October the bucks groan at each other across the rides.

When to look

All year, mostly at dawn and dusk.

Time of day

Best time
Dawn and dusk all year. The rut is the highlight, in October, when bucks groan from their rutting stands. Fawns are born June–July.
Where in the game
the New Forest (ancient woodland, lawn and heath)
Size
Body length 138–179 cm; bucks larger
Weight
Bucks 40–63 kg, does 31–44 kg
Lifespan
Usually 8–10 years in the wild; does can reach 12–16
Population
About 264,000 in Britain (95% confidence interval 194,000–343,000; Mammal Society, 2018 review)
Status
Naturalised, so not assessed for Britain (Mammal Society); Least Concern globally

Diet

Grass, herbs, leaves, bramble, acorns, beech mast and chestnuts, plus bark and shoots in winter.

Habitat

Broadleaved woodland with open glades and grassland; in the New Forest, the deer sanctuary at Bolderwood and other enclosures, rides and woodland edges.

Breeding

Rut in October. A single fawn is born in June–July after a gestation of about 234 days.

Field signs

  • Trampled hollows ('rutting stands') bare of grass, in October, with a strong musky smell
  • Neat, pointed-oval slots about 5–6 cm long
  • Groaning, belching calls from bucks at night in October
  • Dark, pellet-like droppings in piles

Did you know?

  • Fallow deer were brought to England by the Normans, around 1100 AD, and are the most common deer in England (Mammal Society).
  • Fallow come in many coat colours: common (spotted), menil (paler spots), melanistic (nearly black) and white. In the New Forest, all these forms can be seen.
  • A fallow buck's rutting call is a deep, rhythmic groan, closer to a belch than a bellow, and carries a long way on a still October night.

Moments worth waiting for

  • The rut October, dawn, dusk and night
    A buck stands on his rutting stand, neck stretched, groaning in a slow rhythm while does drift nearby.
  • Fawns June to July, dawn and dusk
    A spotted fawn, tucked motionless in the bracken, its mother watching from the tree line.

Rare forms and local legends

  • White fallow deer A rare colour form, about 1 in 20 sightings
    Not an albino: its eyes are dark. White fallow come from deer-park breeding before the deer went wild, and they get whiter with age. Over 90% of New Forest fallow are the common spotted form.
  • Ghost A local legend
    A white buck the locals know. New Forest fallow bucks return to the same traditional rutting stands every October and November.
  • Black fallow deer A rare colour form, about 1 in 40 sightings
    The black (melanistic) form has no white on it anywhere, not even the rump. It's one of four fallow colour forms in the New Forest.
  • Menil fallow deer A rare colour form, about 1 in 33 sightings
    Menil fallow keep their white spots all year and have no black border to the rump. The common form goes greyish in winter and its spots fade.

Photo tip

Use a long lens (300 mm+) from woodland edge in the half-hour after first light. In October, stay downwind, wait quietly near a rutting ground and photograph the groaning buck's neck stretched forward. Avoid walking between bucks and does.

Be a good naturalist

Stay well back (50 m or more) during the rut: bucks can be aggressive and a doe with a fawn may be nearby. Never feed deer, and in the New Forest keep dogs close and away from deer. Keep to paths and do not drive deer off feeding grounds.

The law

Deer Act 1991 (England and Wales): close season for bucks 1 May–31 July and for does 1 April–31 October, and poaching is an offence. Not protected as a species; New Forest deer are managed by Forestry England.

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