150
THE ESSEX NATURALIST
parents", though he points out how unusual this would be*. It is
clear that Harting was very sceptical about this, and one wonders
how many fawns the keepers had in fact seen and handled.
Buxton (1884) makes it clear that these dark animals were in fact
spotted, and this is certainly the case to-day. It is only on the
winter coat that the spots are obscured, whilst a foetus taken from
an animal killed on the 12th April 1964 showed spots on the skin.
However, indications from a foetus should not be regarded as
conclusive evidence for this. Reliable observation of a number of
fawns is desirable.
The antlers of the Forest deer have been considered to be poor.
Whitehead (1964), however, considers them to be no worse than
in many other wild herds and quotes some measurements of
Forest heads. The antlers on the heads received by the Museum
are illustrated in plates 4, 5 and 6.
Almost every animal showed signs of pathological con-
ditions in one or more bones. A buck (91/64) had a growth
below the left eye. The examination of these conditions is not
yet completed and a detailed report is being prepared. Where the
complete animal was received a cursory examination was made
for parasites, but none have been found. Of the absence of
ectoparasites there are two explanations; firstly the animals have
invariably been cold when examined and any parasites present
may already have left the body, though some species would be
expected to remain had they been present. Alternatively there
might not have been any present. The inside of the nose was not
examined. Therefore the absence of parasites may or may not be
significant. In future it is hoped that a much more detailed search
for parasites will be possible.
Notes on each animal are given below. A description of the
skins and the development and loss of the seasonal coats follows.
More detailed reports on other aspects of these animals are in
preparation and will be published at a later date.
Notes on the Animals Killed
A complete analysis of the stomach contents of these deer has
not been made. The material readily identifiable by washing out
the stomach is given below. The parts of each animal examined
or preserved are summarised in the table. The number quoted
beside each animal is the Museum accession number.
An attempt has been made to age the present animals by
means of the tooth wear exhibited by the mandible. The results
were far from satisfactory and it was considered better to leave
these out. Work is under way at present on other ageing methods
and this matter is left open. The animals have however been
numbered according to the amount of wear they show. The
*For a possible explanation of the origin of this statement see : Essex Field Club,
Journal of Proceedings, Vol. II, p. xxii.