DEER IN ESSEX
313
Deer in Essex
By Brian Eastcott
This is a preliminary report on the distribution of deer in
Essex. It is mainly concerned with comparing the present dis-
tribution with that known to Henry Laver, as stated in his mono-
graph "The Mammals, Fishes and Reptiles of Essex" published in
1898 as an Essex Field Club Special Memoir.
The records have been obtained from 1963 to 1969 by the
Essex Deer Survey in a variety of ways. The first
method used was to allocate to an individual a 10 km square; that
person then had to check all the woodland in that area for signs of
deer. Monthly reports were then sent to the organiser in order
that some check could be kept on the progress. This method,
although it enabled large areas of the county to be covered by
relatively few people, was not very successful. This was partly
because some people were quite keen when assisting others but
were not so enthusiastic about working on their own. After this
organised meetings were held with car-loads of people being
given lists of woods to be checked in the vicinity. Reports were
given at lunch time and at the end of the day. This method was
more successful but much more time was needed for the organisa-
tion of the meetings.
Records have also been obtained from the police, but these
have usually referred to deer involved in road accidents. These
were very often also reported in local papers, sometimes with
photographs which aided in the identification of the species. Local
newspapers have also reported instances where gardens or crops
have been damaged by deer. Although one could only guess at
the species a quick spot-check in the area often substantiated the
record. Apart from the methods mentioned above a considerable
number of records have been obtained by individuals who have
seen the occasional one or two deer, made a note and sent it in.
All records have been kept although none have been used in this
paper unless the report has been fully authenticated.
Laver recorded red, roe, sika and fallow deer as existing in
Essex, either in a feral state or in deer parks. The survey showed
that only red and fallow had survived since that time, but that
muntjac were a new arrival in the county.
RED DEER (Cervus elaphus)
Laver reported that there were some red deer in Epping Forest
in the 1880s which had been transferred there from Windsor.
However, they proved so destructive to the crops of neighbouring