Rum Deer Research

@rumdeerresearch.bsky.social

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Research findings and news from a long-term study of Red Deer on the Isle of Rum National Nature Reserve, Scotland. https://rumdeer.bio.ed.ac.uk/ #isleofrum #deer #reddeer #cervuselaphus #science #reddeerresearch

5hr old Red Deer calf lying in the grass about to be sexed, weighed and tagged for science
Small 10x10cm quadrat on the vegetation, with the vegetation cage behind
Little rectangles of coloured material that goes behind the tag in the ears of the deers, called flashed
Darvic collars being made. Strips of darvic are made round in hot water before adding buckles abd painting on the pattern
Hind Bauple is very tame, looking at the camera from 2 metres.
Stag Coypu19 looking at the camera, his antlers still covered in protective velvet. Picture taken in during summer 2025.
Stags Eddy16 and Lalo fight, antlers locked, their heads twisted hard to the left as they try to gain better purchase against one another
Two stags fight, their antlers locked. Eddy16 is on the left extending his body in full power. Lalo on the right is being pushed backwards, and only has one back leg on the ground
Stag Herbert stands looking intently left to his hinds that are out of shot. It is raining.
Extreme close up of stag Hodges, showing the natural slits of the top sides of his ears that help us identify him.
Stag Gorgonzola19 stands looking at the camera.
Stag Scottie is looking straight at the camera showing off his wide antlers and pale eyes. Hind Saba is ruminating unconcernedly behind him.
Stag Eddy15 standing, yearling Bolly24 is in the corner of the picture
15 year old stag Sitar10, who is blind in his right eye
A stag called Sepal09, stands sniffing the air. He is a hummel - a stag with no antlers
Tokay13 stag running towards a hind that is out of shot, looking very excited.
A Red Deer stag we call Hodges roaring and 2 hinds in oestrus we call Baru and Squilla
Peridot19 lying ruminating
Coypu19 looking impressive
Stag Coypu19 with big antlers ready for the rut
Photo of the calf catching team in 2025 at Kilmory, Isle of Rum
A picture of brown deer on a brown hillside in our study area.
Hallival and Askival creating their own clouds in an otherwise perfect blue sky
Kilmory Glen in flood
Uhura, an 8 year year old red deer hind grazing
A bit of snow at the highest point of today's census route
Graph showing the advancement of red deer birth dates since 1970
A Red Deer Stag on the Isle of Rum. Photo by Sean Morris
A 6 year old hind lying on the left and her 2024 calf standing on the right. The hind has a pale blue darvic collar with a green circle pattern. The hind was born in 2018 to a female called Whelk.
A 9 year old female red deer on the right with her 2024 female calf on the left. The calf has a white darvic collar with a red diamond pattern. The hind is called Malabar and was born in 2015 to a hind called Karuka
A red deer yearling female with a yellow darvic collar with a green X pattern. This study animal is the daughter of a hind called Slate born in 2023
North Kilmory Glen with the snowy Skye Cuillin in the background
A selection of Darvic collars for female red deer calves in the process of construction. The stacked ones of various colours have had buckles fitted. A dark blue collar is yet to have a buckle fitted.
A 3 year old red deer stag with orange ear tags on the Isle of Rum called Viriota 21