Ashdown Forest

Ashdown Forest was first enclosed as a royal hunting park in the thirteenth century. The “pale” fence enclosed an area of over 5000 hectares within which red and fallow deer were hunted. Over the centuries, the red deer have disappeared and the population of fallow deer has fluctuated between none at the end of the 17th century, when the pale was no longer maintained, to the very high numbers we see today. Deer are no longer the property of the Crown but are wild animals, without ownership. If they are on your land, they are your responsibility.

The Board of Conservators policy on deer is:

"The Board of Conservators are aware of the increasing deer population in the area and have played a significant role, with others, in establishing both a Deer Warden Scheme to deal with deer casualties on the roads of East Sussex and a Management Group to coordinate the efforts of land-owners in controlling the deer population. Although that part of the Forest managed by the Board does not harbour large numbers of deer, partly due to disturbance by people and dogs, it is traversed by them coming off quieter, private land, particularly at dusk.

Like many adjacent land managers the Board do not shoot deer to control them. They recognise the value of shooting for conservation reasons, but maintain the current no shooting policy because of the threat it could pose to safety on the Forest, where the public have free access 24/7."

Four species of deer are found on the Forest today:

Fallow Deer

Fallow are by far the most common species seen in the south-east of England. It is difficult to give any accurate estimate of the Forest population size because the animals range freely across the countryside and even into the towns and villages. The numbers have increased dramatically over the last three decades for a number of reasons: mild winters not only allow more deer to survive but also leave them in better condition for fawning in the spring; culling has declined because the price of venison has fallen, possibly due to deer farming; the decline in agriculture means that more land-owners are prepared to see large herds of deer grazing where previously they would have been competing with sheep or cattle. Fallow is the deer species most frequently hit by vehicles on local roads.

Fallow bucks showing colour variation - black to menil (pale)

Roe Deer

Roe deer are the only native deer on the Forest. They are strongly territorial and so can regularly be seen in the same areas. The Forest population increased after the 1987 storm which re-structured a lot of woodland, creating grassy glades and open rides. They are more commonly found on the edge of agricultural land. Roe deer live in small family groups of two or three animals but they are very shy and difficult to see. There are probably less than two dozen family groups on the Forest.

A Roe buck on the left and a Roe doe with grown kid on the right

Sika Deer

Sika were introduced from (probably) Japan. They are more similar to red deer than fallow, despite their appearance, and there are concerns about hybridisation where the two species occur together. On the Forest, sika occur mainly near to Forest Row, where an ornamental herd escaped over twenty years ago. The animals that exist today cannot be the same ones that escaped originally but the herd has not increased to more than twenty animals nor has it spread very far. Sika are superficially similar to fallow and often mistaken for them: sika antlers are not palmate but pointed, stags have a pronounced mane and they have pale scent glands on the hind legs.

Muntjac Deer

These are small deer and extremely difficult to see. On the Forest, their numbers are still very low with no more than a dozen animals being reported. They are, however, capable of rapid population growth: under ideal conditions they can produce twins at eight month intervals. Where populations are high, there can be considerable damage to woodland flora.

	Fallow	Roe	Sika	Muntjac
Frequency on Ashdown	Very common	Infrequent	Very localised	Rare
Male	Buck	Buck	Stag	Buck
Female	Doe	Doe	Hind	Doe
Young	Fawn	Kid/fawn	Calf	Fawn
Call	Groan roar	Bark whistle	Whistle or shriek	Bark
Rut	October/November	July/August	October/November	No rut
Young born	June	May/June	June	Anytime
Antlers cast	May	November	May	June
Antler shape	Many points. Flattened beam.	3 points. Very rough.	Usually 4 tines. Not flattened.	Small (75mm) and simple. Teeth include protruding canines.
Origin	Introduced - Roman Norman	Native	Introduced - Japanese	Introduced - Asian

Deer and Plants

A list of plants not liked by deer can be found here. Please let us know if you find that deer DO eat these plants or come accross others they do not like.

Deer and Traffic

View a short film about deer and traffic here

With increasing numbers of deer, conflicts inevitably occur. Nationally, there are estimated to be 50,000 traffic accidents per year involving deer, including human fatalities. Fallow is the deer species most frequently hit by vehicles on local roads.

It is possible to minimise the chance of hitting a deer by following these rules:

1. Deer move between feeding and resting grounds at dawn and dusk: takeparticular care at these times.

2. There are peaks in deer traffic accidents during the rut in the autumn and after fawning in the spring; again, take particular care during these periods.

3. Deer usually travel in small groups; if one crosses the road in front of you, look out for the rest following.

4. Where woodland or scrub comes right to the road verge, take special care - deer may step straight onto the carriageway.

5. At night, animal eyes reflect headlights - slow down if you see them on the verge.

6.Inevitably, traffic speed is the main factor governing the number and severity of animal traffic accidents - drive across the Forest as slowly as practical.

If you are unlucky enough to hit a deer within the boundaries of the Forest, ring the Rangers on 01342 823583. The Rangers have considerable experience of dealing with injured deer and will give the animal every chance to recover. However, deer will rarely survive a heavy impact, in which case the Rangers are trained to put the animal down humanely. If you are outside the area, ring the police.

A car written-off after hitting a deer. The deer, needless to say, did not survive.

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