Velvet covered

Our feral deer population is getting ready for the next round of breeding and the bucks have just about finished growing their new antlers. They have started their destructive rubbing on young trees and saplings but it is certain to get worse in the near future as most antlers are still covered with velvet.
A group have been around our property of late and today five were in the area near the house.

The deer problem seems to be in the too hard basket for any of the government departments to come up with any effective control and their area of spread just gets bigger.

In a rut; almost

The rut is not as yet underway but the bucks are out of the forest and starting to gather their females for the mating season. This is the period when they become a major problem as the bucks create damage to the trees and shrubs through antler rubbing and marking their territory with aggressive bush bashing.
This buck Rusa deer was quite happily grazing near the house until he caught sight of me and made a hasty retreat with the few females that were nearby.