Far-reaching, reverberating roars and bellows are a feature of autumn in Richmond and Bushy parks as red deer stags advertise for mates or vigorously defend growing harems from would-be wife snatchers.

Meanwhile, fallow bucks with palmate antlers emit a softer belching grunting cough, but the sounds made are part ofthe annual rutting rituals that can be spectacular to watch from a respectable distance.

The deer mainly use established rutting grounds and activity can be hectic especially on warm sunny days which seem to stimulate the animals to even greater efforts, including much thrashing of antlers against tree branches.

For stags and bucks this is an exhausting few weeks and by the end of October they look quite tatty and thin especially as they have spent much time wallowing in wet muddy pools in order to enhance their scent to watching hinds and does and have had little time to eat.

Often, evenly-matched stag can be seen walking slowly, side-by-side, sizing each other up before beginning to fight with clashing antlers making a holow-sounding rattle.

Red stags reach their peak at about seven years of age after which they may gradually lose their powers and be ousted by up-and-coming younger individuals.

Fossil remains indicate that fallow dear were long ago native to Britain but died out and were probably re-introduced by the Romans.

Red deer have always been a magnificent part of our fauna.

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