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Killarney Red Deer & rut – Locations?
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I’ve never been to Killarney so am not familiar with the place. Might try to get down between now and early Oct. for the deer rut. Can anybody suggest any locations I might investigate to maximise my chances of seeing some red deer. I realise it’ll probably be needle in haystack stuff, but maybe someone here that has any experience with the location could offer some advice?
Hi Goosebanker. I’m not too familiar with their usual haunts around Kilarney, but I’d imagine there are a good few places where you’de be likely to come across them. Look for fresh tracks, droppings, scrapes, water sources etc. The bucks call travels very well, so you may hear them long before you see them. They are a lot less cautious during the rut as they are more interested in finding females at this time and are not too bothered with us humans. I slept in a forest last year and could hear them moving around and calling nearly all night. Came across a good few early the following day.
Wildlife: A pedigree herd of Kerry cattle, once the dominant breed in Ireland, graze the demesne grasslands. The only native herd of Red! Deer remaining in the Ireland roam the upland areas of the Killarney National Park, especially on the slopes of Torc and Mangerton,. Now numbering over 850, this herd has had a continuous existence since the return of Red Deer into Ireland at the end of the last Ice Age, 10,000 years ago. Japanese Sika Deer, introduced! to Killarney in 1865, are found not only on the open mountain hut also throughout the woodlands.
http://www.killarney-insight.com/killarney-national-park.html
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