In the last few weeks three very young deer have been found dead in the Park; the evidence is that they have been mauled by dogs.
June's Park Diary (written by the Park management) said: "This month the deer give birth to their young. The young are not ready to follow their mothers in the herd for one or two weeks. Until then they lie hidden in deep grass or bracken. Their mothers graze in the vicinity, returning at intervals to groom and suckle them. At this age the young are very vulnerable to disturbance or attack by dogs. It is best to keep to footpaths at this time of year, and to keep dogs on leads or under close control."
Clearly the dog owners did not do this in these three cases. It is likely that the dog disturbed the young deer, the deer tried to run away but could not get very far, the dog instinctively chased it and then brought it to the ground and mauled it. There are still young deer around, so please keep your dog on the lead or under close control for the next few weeks.
This news item first appeared in the Friends' July bulletin.