Red Deer Rut

I have received a lot of queries lately on when our red deer are likely to start rutting... the short answer is soon!

I have not seen any locking of antlers, nor posturing from the younger stags, but Albus is beginning to strut around and make a noise. 

I imagine he will be successful this year again. We do have two younger stags, the one above is still way too young to challenge and I doubt will even attempt it, but Olivander below may well give it a go. 

This year Olivander has really matured, and grown in size for this season. He has a wider spread of antlers this year too and so he may fancy his chances. I imagine not much will happen in the early stages, but when Albus starts to tire Olivander may try to assert himself as a challenger.

But at the moment... and who my money is on for this year... it is still Albus Dumbledeer. He is certainly making himself known, stamping around, chasing off the younger males and roaring. Side by side he still is a little bigger than Olivander, but watch out next year... they will be more evenly matched then.

If you want to see them strut and roar, now is a good time, and one thing I can;t express over this blog is the smell! A real strong musty scent that the males cover themselves in this time of year, it really hits you out by the paddock. I wouldn't say it's particularly pleasant, but well worth experiencing.

As for actual locking of antlers... if that occurs, I will try and get some pictures and of course let you know to come and see for yourself.

September 2016: Photo of the Month

"Stray light over Red Fox" by Matthew Cattell

A lot of good images shared this past month, and a lot of fun ones too... but 1 in particular caught my eye.

This photo of Flo the fox, taken by Matt Cattell, has a lot of atmosphere to it. It is difficult to catch Flo at the best of times, as she is constantly on the move, but not only has Matt done this he has also managed to get some eye contact. What really stands out though is the lighting. Beautiful dappled light on her body really adds something to the image, and the shadows in the background really make Flo stand out. Nice one Matt!

Matt's image will be in our coffee shop gallery next year, alongside the other months picks, and be in with the chance of winning a photo day here at the Centre.

"Polecats" by Routemaster on Twitter

This is  a great fun photo that was posted to our twitter feed. Oriel, our female polecat, almost looking pleadingly at the camera to help here out with her 6 boisterous kits... all seen behind her.

"Badger" by Rosalind Gray

Another fun one from flickr... Toby, with out a care in the world, having an afternoon scratch in the sun.

'Wild Roe Deer" by Ken Noble

And take a look at this photo by Ken! Ken is a local bird watcher, who keeps a tab on all the sightings on our nature reserve. He sent me in this great photo of a wild Roe buck who we frequently see out there with a doe.

Look forwards to seeing more photos of the coming month.

Polecat Update

Do you remember these?.. Lots of polecat babies bred by Cassie and Billy. I haven't got any recent photos, as they are now preparing for collection by the breeding group, but along with Whitstable and Oriel's youngsters we have 12 kits ready to move on to pastures new.

All our kits are now off-display, so you can no longer see them if you visit the Centre. But you can still see our adult polecats.

Oriel, above, is very much enjoying her life now with out the kitts around. She if  make the keepers lives easier too, with no babies to protect she is a lot less bitey!

Whitstable is as laid back as ever, but it won't be long now until we introduce him back in to our main enclosure with Oriel. They can the settle over the winter, before hopefully having more kitts next season.

Billy and Cassie, well... Just Cassie really... is a bit more temperamental. We will have to introduce them together a little bit slower, but they should both be on display by October half term.