blames road accidents and public disturbance for the decline of deer in the
Forest. An additional factor is likely to be the decrease in dense bracken and
other undergrowth in which deer could lie-up and drop their fawns. This change
in habitat results from the management policies of the Conservators and in-
creasing public use of the Forest.
To protect the Forest deer a sanctuary of 44 hectares was established, by
the Conservators, next to the Forest at Birch Hall early in the 1960's. In 1962
the sanctuary was fenced with deer-proof fencing but provided with "deer-
leaps" so that deer could move between the Forest and the sanctuary. The
sanctuary might have provided a safe refuge in which Forest deer could find
peace to breed but soon the 'deer-leaps' were closed-off and the enclosed deer
formed the basis of the present 'park' herd. The enclosed herd has reached such
high numbers (see figure 2) that surplus animals are killed but no deer from the
sanctuary have been liberated into the Forest. Although wild fallow deer are still
seen in the Forest it is unlikely that they still breed on Forest land.
Muntjac
If wild deer do still breed in the Forest they are almost certainly not fallow
but the little muntjac. This introduced deer is now widespread in Essex, one was
released in Epping Forest in 1965 and several have been seen in the Forest or
killed on Forest roads since then. Unlike the fallow, they are not so shy of
humans that they avoid the southern parts of the Forest. Muntjac have been
found well into urban areas, (Chapman 1977).
SQUIRRELS
Red squirrels were common throughout the Forest during the last century
although probably they did not spread as far into London (south of Wanstead
Park) as the grey squirrel does today. By the time of the Great War the red
squirrel was scarce in the Forest. This was probably the result of an outbreak of
coccidiosis over much of southern England. About this time there was at least
one introduction of the continental race of red squirrels and this probably
contributed to the survival of the species in the Forest (certainly black squirrels
— the continental type — were found until the 1940's). By 1936 the red
squirrels were quite common again and had spread into the smaller woods to the
north of the Forest.
Meanwhile the introduced grey squirrels, which had spread around much
of the London area early in the 20th century, were finding colonisation of the
Forest difficult. There are early records of grey squirrels in Wanstead Park
(1917), Loughton and Epping before 1923 and Gaynes Park, Epping in 1921.
These early arrivals, of unknown origin, did not persist. Grey squirrels did not
colonise across the Lea from Middlesex because of the unsuitable urban and
marshland habitats. It was not until 1933 that the grey squirrel became per-
manently established in Essex, having crossed the Lea in the Roydon area. Grey
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