Fallow Deer in the Forest of Dean

 Hi everyone, In today's post I will show you what we got on the camera trap in the Forest of Dean. On the first day I found a good spot near the campsite. It looked like it had been trodden down; something obviously came through here often. An hour and a half after the camera was set up, we got our first visitor. It was a fallow deer doe, which got a bit spooked by our camera trap, or something behind it. 

Another hour later, we got a fallow deer fawn passing through. I have to admit, it is very cute.

Later that night we get the same fawn again; you can tell from its dark - coloured forehead.

The next day, at the crack of dawn, we got another doe again, probably the same one - and probably the mother of the young fawn.

At 9:45 we got the doe, and once again it got a bit spooked by the camera. 

In the evening, we got the doe again, followed by the young fawn. 

A minute later the doe comes past the camera again. However, the fawn is out of sight - it's probably just under the camera or behind the tree where the camera is strapped. 

At night, we got the young fawn again.

It appears to be quite brave, as it not always by his mother's side. Despite this, Mum is never far ahead.

This day was the best day for the camera trap. At 7:AM we got a doe standing tall and proud.

Two other deer were behind her, another doe and another young deer. I reckon it is one of last year's fawns as it is brown in colour and lacks spots, like young fallows often do. 

The deer live in herds and the young brown deer is possibly a cousin of the new fawn, if the two does are related. The deer with the fawn is raising it away from the herd, as that is typical fallow deer behavior. The two does in the video you just watched and probably part of the mother's herd, and the young brown deer is old enough to be part of the herd. By next year, the fawn will probably be old enough to join the herd, along with its mother meaning that the number of deer in the herd we have been watching is five. However, if either of the young deer are male, they will most likely live a solitary life when they are older. Anyway, the deer herd stuck around for a bit so here is some more footage.

In the afternoon, we got what I think was the mother of the fawn again.

In the evening, we got the fawn again for the last time...

...who was shortly followed by Mum.

That was all we got in the Forest of Dean. I hope you really enjoyed the last two posts, and don't forget to leave a comment if you did. Unfortunately, we didn't see any boar, although I'm sure that this is not the last time we will go on a boar hunt in the Forest of Dean...