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Given suitable habitats, which can be
overgrown gardens, not necessarily woodland,
I see no reason why muntjac cannot be
firmly established as the most widespread
deer in Essex by the end of the decade.
Sika
Over the years there have been persistent
reports of sika deer in Essex. Only last
year a book was published which referred
to sika in Hatfield Forest; not the first
such reference either. Donald Chapman
could not substantiate any reports up to
1977, and I cannot substantiate any later
ones .
Having dealt with each species individually
I would like to comment on some of the
factors affecting distribution of the deer
in Essex.
Deer Parks/Farms
There have been no new parks created since
1977 and we are left with only Quendon,
Bedfords and St. Osyth. Escapes do occur
from these parks and also from wildlife
parks and in fact all these parks contain
red deer at least. St. Osyth is a bit out
on a limb, but there appears to be a
thriving feral population around it where
none existed prior to the creation of the
park .
Deer farms are a more recent innovation
in Essex and so far as I am aware none
existed in 1977. I am aware of three so
far established: Orsett, Stebbing and
Pelham areas and believe they all contain
red deer. They appear to be very much