Sika deer

Sika deer

During autumn the sika deer rut begins on Brownsea Island. Seeing a stag, though, can prove frustratingly difficult, unless you're a hind that is.

View a slideshow of your amazing sika deer pictures in the Flickr group.

Watch all the best sika deer action from the shows.

Species information

The sika deer seen in our parks and countryside today are all descended from a population that was introduced into Britain in the late 19th century from east Asia. It soon became a popular park and zoo animal that subsequently escaped, or was released, into the wild.

It is smaller than our red deer, with a white spotted-chestnut brown coat in summer turning to a uniform greyish-brown in winter. The stags come together during the rutting season (September to December) using their slender antlers against other stags. These antlers are also used to mark territories.

There is increasing concern that as sika deer mate with the closely related red deer, the pure breeds of both species may die out in the future.

How to help

These deer are widespread in Scotland and throughout England in more isolated patches, usually to be found in mixed woodlands, plantations and farmland where they can cause significant damage by gouging, fraying and stripping bark. They are managed professionally.

Monday 27 October

Bill and Kate introduce us to a very special deer in a unusual way.

Hop-a-long

Kate catches up with Hop-a-long, our lame sika deer. What could have caused his injury?

A sika deer rut

With Hop-a-long gone missing, we filmed a sika deer rut. It's all about the tactics and strategy, unlike the red deer rut where brute strength counts.