Sika deer have an illustrious history here

It is rutting season for deer this month. Hillwalkers and strollers in Glendalough Valley have been struck by the piercing sound of sika stags making a shrill triple-whistle sound as they collect their hinds (females) and hold them in a harem while they maintain dominance among their male counterparts during rutting season. A pregnant hind will give birth next June, 33 weeks after ‘unity-day’ in October!

Mervyn Wingfield, seventh Viscount Powerscourt, introduced Sika deer to Ireland. He purchased four sika deer, one male and three hinds, in 1860 from Charles Jamrach, a leading London dealer in wildlife, birds and shells and imported these into his Wicklow estate, which once incorporated almost 49,000 acres. The progeny spread elsewhere across counties Dublin, Kildare, Carlow and Kilkenny.

But how did this quartet of sika deer evolve into a population of 600 by the mid 1930s and nowadays to an estimated 15,000?