18
very shy and sight records are few and far
between. Two young bucks have died as a
result of encounters with fox snares several
miles from the "home" wood. This may be a
sign that the population there is slowly
building, or they may have travelled down
from the Suffolk population and bypassed
our own. I have received one reliable
record of a buck several miles in the other
direction.
They do appear to be spreading in Suffolk,
so possibly ours are waiting for reinforce-
ments. Perhaps the main incursion when it
comes will be in the north east of the
county and not where the forward party
settled in the north west. Who knows?
Munt j ac
Nine years ago muntjac distribution in Essex
could have been described as locally common.
Now they are very common in some areas, and
are becoming quite common between those areas.
They are filling in the blanks. I keep
getting reports from people who say they have
never seen them there before. My own experi-
ence suggests that once they get a hold they
very quickly become established. It would
not surprise me to get confirmed records of
muntjac from any part of Essex.
A hare was shot in the Dengie area and it
turned out to be a muntjac! A warden on a
nature reserve near North Fambridge reported
a roebuck being present; this also turned
out to be a muntjac on investigation.
They must by now cover most of the county
though the densest populations will still be
to the north and west.