Warm weather cools red deer’s passion as they break from annual mating ritual

Red deer stags in Killarney have become so “subdued” by the current spell of warm weather, they are taking a break from their annual mating ritual and can scarcely roar, let alone fight.

Unseasonably warm air from the Azores is leading the unique species to socialise rather than clash antlers, according to the Wild Deer Association of Ireland (WDAI). A “rut watch” walk among the lowland herd, scheduled this weekend by the WDAI and national park rangers in Killarney, has been called off for a week, in the hope the animals will revive.

This time of year sees stags fight before gathering their harem of hinds and making off into their own defined space in the woods and moors.