I'm stuck in a rut deer! The bizarre pictures of a herd hiding in their holes

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

It's not just bears: Deer dig 'toilets' in the woods which double as a musky 'body spray'


It's said that there are no atheists in foxholes, but it seems that one thing you may find peeping out from a hole in the ground is a young buck.

The extraordinary sight was spotted by amateur photographer Mark Bridger while he was out walking in Knole Park, near Sevenoaks, Kent.

As he was wandering through the 1,000 acre park Mark had to do a double-take as he saw a disembodied head with impressive antlers that was seemingly lying on the ground.

In fact the stag was resting during the mating rut in one of dozens of 'cologne' holes dug by the animals around the park.

The holes are carved out of the autumn earth by the male fallow deer - who use them as combination of a latrine and 'Lynx effect'.

Dad-of-one Mark, 42, said before he found out why the deer use the holes it was quite a surprise to see such a big animal disappear into the ground.


Up to his neck in it: A young male deer peeps out of his smelly lair out in search of a date


He said: "It's not something you expect to see is it?, a deer hiding in a hole in the ground.

'When I first saw its head poking up I wondered if it had been chopped off, it was quite shocking.'

'When I was there it was during the rut and there were a lot of males using the holes.'

'Sometimes it looked like they were taking a rest from the action in their own mini dug outs like in a football match.'


Meet the parents: The young buck appears to have attracted a doe to his 'foxhole', but is that her dad looking on with disapproval?


Printer Mark said he loved walking in the park and was surprised to learn about the deer's unusual habit.

Mark, who lives with wife and son George in West Malling, Kent, said he had never seen or heard of anything like it before.

He said: 'I think the picture of the stag with its head popping up is quite funny really and I don't think its something people know about.'

A spokesman for Knole Park, which is run by the National Trust, said the male deer used the holes to cover themselves in the scent of dung and urine.

He said: 'It might not sound like something you or me would wear for a Saturday night out, but female deer are actually attracted to the smell.'

Knole is the family home of author Vita Sackville-West and its grounds were also the setting for arguably the first ever 'pop video' - The Beatles' promotional film for Strawberry Fields Forever.


source: dailymail