The Year of the Deer - Part 2

'Turning back the clock - to the late 1990s' , when I was privileged to assist in the making of and appearing (alongside Johnny Kingdom and a number of other well known Westcountry deer enthusiasts) in a film about 'The Year of the Deer' on Exmoor. With kind permission of 'Available Light Productions' and David Parker who produced the film, I am able to revisit this film here in two parts. Although filmed over 20 years ago, much of the subject matter regarding the red deer will I hope nevertheless be of interest to followers of my channel.
Here in Part 2 "The Year of the Deer" , and tackles the controversial subject of culling. Including contributions by deer managers Charles Harding and Eric Smith, Exmoor writer Hope Bourne , local red deer expert Graham Floyd and myself (Jochen Langbein). Other subjects covered include red deer antler growth, habitat use and ranging behaviour.
See also Part 1 ( at • The Year of the Deer :... )
That first 20 minute episode begins with the inimitable Johnny Kingdom, showing his trademark enthusiasm for wildlife filming; followed by an introduction by me to the radiotracking and other deer research I was then conducting in the Westcountry; Eric Smith talking on the early days of the Quantock Deer counts; and the fun-loving Clatworthy twins (Jack and Frank) on photography and the White Hind that used to roam the Quantock Hills.
With many thanks again to 'Available Light Productions' . Find more about their past films www.availableli....
For my new wildlife videos please remember to hit UA-cam subscribe button for / langbeinwildlife .
See also more of my on-line nature and wildlife photos and blogs at:
DeerTails blog : whydidthedeercr......
Facebook : / langbeinwild. .
IGTV : / langbein_wi. .
Instagram: / langbein_wi. .

[@UKSTAGROSCO]

Superb film and very informative. I was shocked to see the hounds hunting the stags i didn’t realise that still happened! So cruel

[@LangbeinWildlife]

Thank you. This was mainly filmed during 1997 , prior to the Hunting Act 2004 which brought restrictions to hunting. In case of deer , nevertheless 'Excempt hunting' still continues, which in essence prescribes that only 1 couple of hounds should be used to flush deer, which should then me dispatched as soon as possible. Detail though complicated - with more info at www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/hunting-act-2004

[@UKSTAGROSCO]

@@LangbeinWildlife oh ok I understand. Just out of interest are you aware of any stags on exmoor as big as the coins with 24 points I’ve not seen any wild stags in uk this big that are currently alive?

[@LangbeinWildlife]

@@UKSTAGROSCO Hi the biggest Exmoor stag I have seen and filmed was the one in video at this link (21 points - ua-cam.com/video/MBkO9SzuwZw/v-deo.html ‘One of Exmoor’s finest stags’. ) pretty rare to see ones with more than 22 good points on Exmoor.

[@UKSTAGROSCO]

@@LangbeinWildlife yes just watched and commented.
A d of course I remember the Emporer

[@patterdale54]

Lovely , even my exmoor husband enjoying these short clips

[@LangbeinWildlife]

Thanks - Good to hear, as wondered whether would still be of interest at all

[@MikeDownes]

At 12:40 It's breathtaking to hear Hope Bourne speak about the deer, 'It was a wonderful sight ... i made a sketch of what I had seen while it was still fresh in my mind ... they coalesced into a great herd ... It was St Valentine's Day'
Hope Bourne (1920-2010)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_Bourne

[@LangbeinWildlife]

yes - Lovely lady who loved lived and breathed Exmoor into her 90s.

[@MikeDownes]

Hi Jochen, In the video west country deer said at about 3-5 thousand -- what are the estimated numbers now?

[@LangbeinWildlife]

Hi Mike . Depends much on where you draw the boundaries. Numbers now likely to be 3500 or more in and around Exmoor alone, with another 750ish in Quantock Hills region, and many hundreds (possibly thousands) more in mid Devon. In Devon includes red deer now not uncommon in several different areas on edge of Dartmoor, where they were quite rarely seen at that earlier time. .

[@Badger-w8u]

Fantastic film . Loved it seeing the deer . Detest the idea of "controlling " the deer with dogs as so very cruel way to kill anything . Deer should be culled by shooting with a rifle and by trained person . No land owner should "employ" the hunt .

[@LangbeinWildlife]

Thank you Paul. This was of course made at a time when hunting controversy very heated before legislation to ban hunting as practised at the time was banned; and was all the more pleased how David Parker, the producer, put together such a balanced peace. David of course went on to produce most of Johnny Kingdom's films initially locally and in due course for the BBC.

[@deerohdeer8000]

Really fascinating! Basically what I do in my location!! So 2021 !!! Since that prog been done have the stags been hit hard ??? And have the hinds been controlled to a reasonable numbers ?? Great to watch fantastic

[@LangbeinWildlife]

Overall red deer numbers are actually higher across the Exmoor NP than they were at end of the 1990s. While stags have been hit very hard in some areas, but less in others ; this has had moreso the predictable effect of greater concentrations of deer in other parts where under lesser pressure, rather than lower stags numbers or ratio overall.

[@stewbuck83]

Really enjoyed these short films, would love to see an up to date version and a comparison on how if any changes have occurred 👍

[@LangbeinWildlife]

Thanks Stewart. Glad films felt still of interest despite their age. I felt was reasonably balanced with folk from all views involved. Would indeed be good to have a 're-make', as even now there is no Exmoor National Park wide deer management plan.