Deer

This section looks at wild deer herds on Forest Service land and gives details of the species in Northern Ireland forests, how we manage herds and which forests you can visit to view them.

Species

There are three species of wild deer - red, fallow and sika, living in Northern Ireland that may be seen in our forests.

The largest of the three is the Red Deer, Cervus elaphus, which, like the Red squirrel, is a native species to Ireland but because of over culling or loss of habitat became extinct and had to be re-introduced. Today a lucky walker in the border counties may spot one or two of the expanding wild population. Alternatively, an enclosed herd can be viewed in Gosford Forest Park.

The most widely distributed species of deer is the Fallow deer, Dama dama. Introduced in the 13th Century they have been a feature of many of the old estates, some of which are now managed by the Forest Service. Fallow deer have inhabited other parts of the British Isles since Roman times when they were probably introduced as a source of food.

The most recent addition to the Irish deer herds are the Sika Deer, Cervus Nippon, which were introduced from Japan in the late 19th Century. They are the smallest deer in Northern Ireland's forests, with the male at about 85 cm to the shoulder, compared with 90cm and 120cm, for the Fallow and Reds respectively.

The Forest Service employs wildlife rangers who help to manage the wild herds of deer that inhabit our woodlands. This inevitably involves managing population numbers through a process of careful culling of the specific ages and sexes of animal required to keep the herd healthy and at sustainable levels.

Forest design can also play an important part in the management of deer. Open spaces with lush grasses on warm south facing slopes act as deer glades and can attract the deer in the early morning for grazing. This eases the rangers job of counting and where necessary culling of the deer.

The protection and humane management of deer in Northern Ireland is governed by the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 S.I. No 171(N.1.2)

The Forest Service maintains a number of deer parks in forest recreation areas: a herd of around fifty red deer at Gosford Forest Park, a special herd of white fallow deer at Parkanaur Forest Park, around twenty five fallow deer at Randalstown Forest and a small herd of sika deer at Gortin Glen Forest Park.