The Roar

Every year from late March to the end of April it is the Red Stag rutting season. In this time the Stags roar to attract hinds and keep away smaller stags to show their dominance. This period is most commonly known to hunters as the ‘Roar’. This time of year is the red deer’s breeding season.

I live on a farm with my family and we all love to go hunting in the roar to try and get up close with some big red stags. The stags on our farm aren't huge but there is the odd big stag running around the hills still managing to evade us. The roar is the only time stags are vocal and make any noise.

 At the end of winter all the stags will drop their antlers. These are called cast antlers. People collect these for money. They then start growing a new set of antlers during spring. They first grow a soft material called velvet which slowly hardens. Once hard, the stags rub the velvet off on trees. Stags antlers will grow bigger and bigger each year until they reach the age of ten. After this age their antlers will deteriorate. That's if they’re still alive.

They reach their full potential at nine years but lots of stags get shot before they reach their full potential.

The stags during the roar try to round up as many hinds as they can to breed with. Overseas hunters must have a permit to shoot stags. They can’t shoot stags until they are a mature 9 year old.