what did i see?

[teef]

was out in a local stand of evergreens -- replanted obviously, maybe 30 odd years ago? -- and was scouting out a possible tarp setup site. in truth i was a little starved for peace and quiet so i was taking my time. i could hear something approaching and since i was just off a game trail i thought i'd be still a while and let what was coming approach. it sounded like a deer, of which i see many, so i held my ground and stayed completely still.

slowly it approached but i must have been upwind because it was being very cautious and it knew that something wasn't right. when it finally came into view i could
swear it was a bit paler than the usual deer i see, a bit slighter of build and -- this is the difficult bit -- it had long, thin, dark horns pointing straight up, very antelope like.

if i was back in Canada this could have been one of a few species of mountain goat or suchlike but i've never heard of such a thing here in the UK. i have to admit that i'm having a bit of trouble with my eyesight these days so i may well have been mistaken on any of a number of the details so i have to ask: did i see what i thought i saw or were my eyes and/or the dappled sunlight playing tricks on me? is there any such species here?

fwiw the critter backed off and very tentatively took the long way around me. a few minutes later i did see a deer come in from the other direction -- he almost stepped into my little clearing -- and i had no difficulty identifying him so ... not sure and would very much like to know.

 

[Madriverrob]

was out in a local stand of evergreens -- replanted obviously, maybe 30 odd years ago? -- and was scouting out a possible tarp setup site. in truth i was a little starved for peace and quiet so i was taking my time. i could hear something approaching and since i was just off a game trail i thought i'd be still a while and let what was coming approach. it sounded like a deer, of which i see many, so i held my ground and stayed completely still.

slowly it approached but i must have been upwind because it was being very cautious and it knew that something wasn't right. when it finally came into view i could
swear it was a bit paler than the usual deer i see, a bit slighter of build and -- this is the difficult bit -- it had long, thin, dark horns pointing straight up, very antelope like.

if i was back in Canada this could have been one of a few species of mountain goat or suchlike but i've never heard of such a thing here in the UK. i have to admit that i'm having a bit of trouble with my eyesight these days so i may well have been mistaken on any of a number of the details so i have to ask: did i see what i thought i saw or were my eyes and/or the dappled sunlight playing tricks on me? is there any such species here?

fwiw the critter backed off and very tentatively took the long way around me. a few minutes later i did see a deer come in from the other direction -- he almost stepped into my little clearing -- and i had no difficulty identifying him so ... not sure and would very much like to know.

Are you sure on the two horns ? It could have been a unicorn

 

[teef]

yeah, okay, guess i need to get my eyes checked again.

 

[saxonaxe]

Some years ago I was camping in a small wood that I had recently purchased. I was fairly familiar with the wood although not it's wildlife at that time.

One evening a pale ghostly 'shape' appeared in the bushes across the clearing where my tent was set up. I sat by the fire in the gathering darkness trying to convince myself I was not seeing a ghost. Without a sound the shape moved away and I decided to check the area next morning. Subsequent searches in daylight revealed nothing, Bracken slightly flattened in places, but nothing of note.

A couple of evenings later, still camped in the same spot, the afternoon sun was setting and soon dusk would fall. I sat
motionless with my camera hoping to catch a couple of Fox Cubs that had visited on a previous evening..

I knew they had come from the direction of the stream, so I sat facing that way. Suddenly....I was going to say.." I felt movement behind me"...sounds daft, but those who spend much time in the woods will know what I mean.
Very slowly I turned round and looked across the clearing. And there was my ghost from an earlier evening..

That wood always felt like home to me....

You probably know. It was a White Hart, the Deer of a thousand pub signs. Albinos of the race, first introduced in Gt Britain by the Normans after 1066. A sign of status in their hunting Forests and the genes of the white deer live on Centuries later.
Some Fallow Deer can be very very pale when young and their antlers sometimes grow as Spikes and never attain the full multi point shape of other Fallow.

Perhapsyour sighting was something similar?

 

[teef]

well those pointy antlers certainly qualify!
i wouldn't have said the critter i saw was white, more a pale golden. and it was noticably slight of build. the deer i typically see around here are a burnt golden going on russet and wider across the chest.

 

[Ark79]

did I let the wife out when was this ???

 

[teef]

did a Gooble search for "fallow deer" (had never known about those before), found this on a site about British deer species:

that could well have been what i saw, smaller and paler but the same idea.

or this:

 

[saxonaxe]

Struggling up the bank from crossing the stream one day, in the same wood, I had rations and kit for a 7 night stay in the wood. Bergan weighed a ton, so I stopped and leaned against a tree at the top of the bank, camera round neck as usual. Suddenly this youngster appeared round the tree...I don't know who was the more surprised, him or me.

I beat him to the draw and managed a quick photo before he legged it. Pale in colour, Antlers just growing, I've seen young Deer almost chocolate colour too. There are many variations.

 

[Ystranc]

There are also Sika deer that live side by side with native Scottish red deer and can hybridise, they're also smaller and can have a range of colours. When seen from the front the number of prongs cannot be distinguished because they line up.
Tough call to guess what it was Teef but I wish I'd seen it. Watching while an animal approaches without being fully aware of you is a magical feeling.

 

[Joecole]

Are you sure on the two horns ? It could have been a unicorn

Sounds as though it could have been a muntjac but usually they're not very big

 

[teef]

... Watching while an animal approaches without being fully aware of you is a magical feeling.

absolutely! and it happened twice that day in the space of 15 minutes! one from other direction on that game trail i was near, first the mystery beastie and then later one of the usual local red deer (i'm guessing).

interesting thing is that it's not that uncommon for me. i had originally assumed the local game was just used to human foot traffic in the woods but judging from how they bolt when the do catch sight of me i realize that might not explain it. i do go out of my way to be as quiet possible when i'm "in country", mostly because i value my privacy and would rather not be noticed when i'm out and about. so there's that, and the fact that i'm usually dressed in browns and greens, not camoed up or anything just enough to blend in. all in all i guess the wildlife stumbling upon me as frequently as they do says that i'm doing a fairly good job of it.

Sounds as though it could have been a muntjac but usually they're not very big

oh, the mystery beastie was certainly small, less than waist high at a guess. i'm afraid i wouldn't recognize a muntjac if it bit me.

 

[saxonaxe]

Sounds like Muntjac, or small Roe perhaps?

 

[lol]

The stag is much the bigger, though waist height is not far off and has little pointy antlers, the doe does not. Both particularly short on the front legs, giving an arse in air look.
Melanistic (pale versions, not necessarily albino) versions exist in all deer...in all animals..........................