Beautiful deer are nibbling native woodlands into non-existence

Where deer are rampant, young sapling trees are nibbled away to nothingness

The red deer that some consider native in Ireland today were probably transported here in boats from the continent by the first farmers, about 6,000 years ago. Fallow deer were brought here by the Normans in the 13th century and through the middle ages were kept in ‘deer parks’ all over Ireland.  Sika deer are a species native to Japan, first brought to Ireland by Viscount Lord Powerscourt in County Wicklow in 1860

Deer are beautiful animals. We see them in hills and forests, jumping gently through heather and scrub, their rich brown fur catching autumn light as though they were always part of the Irish landscape. Their delicate physique, light gait, and big eyes trigger empathy and compassion in us. There is the ‘ Bambi factor’ too of course — most of us have the Disney story embedded in our perspective.

There is a long history of deer in Ireland. Reindeer were once common right across Ireland. Giant Irish Deer, a now extinct species, roamed across the open plains during interglacial periods, boasting enormous antlers spanning 3 metres across and weighing in at 30 kilos. Giant Irish Deer probably weighed about a tonne. The bodies of many Giant Deer have been well preserved in midlands peat bogs, whose skeletons and giant antlers are now displayed in museums far and wide. For this reason, this species of ‘giant deer’ has become known as the ‘Giant Irish Deer’, even though these giants were present throughout Europe at the time.