Scottish Red Deer (Cervus elaphus scoticus)

About Scottish Red Deer

Our largest land-mammal can be found near ullapool. Summer coat is reddish brown to brown, winter coat is brown to grey. No spots present in adult coat. Large, highly branched antlers in the stag (male). 

Adult size. Stags 90-190kg, 107-137cm at shoulder. Females (hinds) 63-120kg, up to 107-122cm at shoulder. Deer on the open hill in Scotland are smaller than those in lowland English woodland.

Antlers. Highly branched. The number of branches increases with age. Up to 16 points in native animals. The angle between the brow tine and the main beam is always more than 90?. This is important in distinguishing red deer from the related sika.

Life span. Exceptionally up to 18 years. Heavy infant mortality at and shortly after birth and during first winter in some Scottish hill populations. 

The rut. The breeding season, or rut, occurs from the end of September to November. Stags return to hind's home ranges and compete for access to hinds by engaging in elaborate displays of dominance including roaring, parallel walks and fighting. Serious injury and death can result but fighting only occurs between stags of similar size that can not assess dominance by any of the other means. The dominant stag then ensures exclusive mating with the hinds.

Breeding. Only stags over 5 years old tend to achieve matings despite being sexually mature much earlier (before their 2nd  birthday in productive woodland populations). In woodland populations hinds over a year old give birth to a single calf after an 8 month gestation, between mid-May to mid-July each year. Puberty may be delayed until 3 years old in hill hinds, which may give birth only once every 2 or 3 years.

Activity. Red deer are active throughout the 24-hour period but make more use of open spaces during the hours of darkness in populations experiencing frequent disturbance. Peak times of activity are at dawn and dusk. In the Highlands of Scotland red deer use the open hill during the day and descend to lower ground during the night.

Source http://www.bds.org.uk/red_deer.html

Where to see Scottish Red Deer near Ullapool

Red deer can be found all over the Scottish highlands.  On the way from Inverness to Ullapool on the A835 there are several areas that you are likely to see red deer from the road.  If you are traveling north to Ullapool from "inchbae lodge" to the "braemore junction"  Google map location Because of their coat the red stags blend in very well with the landscape of the Scottish Highlands spotting them during the day can be very hard to the untrained eye.

When the snow is lying around loch droma and loch glascarnoch you can easily spots the stags at the other side of the loch or on the hillside. 

Driving during the night this area can be dangerous as the stags come up from a the grass verges/ditches at the side of the road directly infront of vehicles.  Becareful while driving at night, especially during winter months when the stags come down from the hills looking for food.  There are warning signs for stags but tourists always ask why are the signs there as they don't see any during the day, it is a different story at night as you will see their eyes in your headlights.

Rhiddoroch Estate.The estate cares meticulously for its red and sika deer and the herds are strong and healthy. You may need to go no further than your kitchen window to enjoy close sightings of these fine beasts in their natural environment. Sharp eyes and a bit of luck might even reward with a pine marten or an otter.