Roe deer are a fairly common sight on Radipole and Luke was fortunate enough to capture these images on of this beautiful doe on Radipole last week. Of the six deer species found in the British Isles, only roe and the mightily antlered red are native. Fallow, muntjac, Chinese water deer and sika have all been introduced and it is believed that deer are now more populous and widespread than at any time in the past 1000 years, which of course creates conflicts with land managers including – in certain circumstances – conservationists.
The natives are a longstanding component of the landscape of the UK and, to a degree, have helped shape this landscape, however important wildlife habitats that can suffer from over grazing and browsing by deer include, ancient woodland, blanket bog and heaths - in other words the UK biodiversity Crown Jewells - a situation not improved by the flourishing populations introduced species.
The problem of over grazing in woodlands can have manifold consequences for biodiversity, including decline in characteristic plant species like bluebell, declines in invertebrate abundance and diversity, prevention of tree regeneration and coppice management. The loss of invertebrates and a diverse, dense understory has devastated nightingale populations a fact proven by experiments in woodlands with and without deer fences. Simply put, where the deer were excluded the nightingales bred and where the deer were present they did not. This is one of the reasons that all woodland SSSI’s have deer control as part of their management plans to halt biodiversity loss.
Seemingly, as with all things ‘wild’, there is a balance to be met – and for me it is always a welcome pleasure to see these timid animals on our patch.