Deer
Trentham is home to a herd of wild, Black Fallow Deer. Fallow deer are the second largest deer species in Britain, and are around 70-90cm high at the shoulder.
It’s early May and the last buck is currently casting his antlers and is wandering around with just one! Don’t be alarmed, it won’t be long before it falls off and his new velvet antlers grow through.
The breeding season, known as the rut, occurs in October, when male fallow deer (known as bucks) roar and fight to win females. The fawns are born in May-June. Fallow are typically a woodland dwelling species but will happily spend time out in open fields, which is why you can often see them in the parkland and woodland at Trentham!
The deer at Trentham were introduced hundreds of years ago, for the royal hunt, hence the name King’s Wood!
At this time the deer at Trentham came in all of the colour varieties but during the food shortages around World War 2 many deer were hunted and eaten as venison. Today, all the deer you see at Trentham are black fallow deer,
despite neighbouring land being home to every colour variety.
For more information, contact Trentham’s Deer Study and Resource Centre, or why not join in our of our nature events, including Deer Photography Workshops.
