Stag

Rutting stag.

A red deer stag (Cervus elaphus) looking exhausted and muddy during the rutting season.

The rutting season, which takes place in the autumn, is when the stags (male deer) compete with each other for breeding rights over a herd of hinds (female deer).
The stags will bellow and roar at each other, and will also engage in battles using their antlers.
Stags will also aggressively thrash their antlers on trees, dead wood and muddy ground.

The red deer is found throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere.
In the UK it is the largest native land animal, and a male can stand nearly two metres tall.

Photographed in October in the Cairngorms National Park, in the Highland Region of Scotland.

Location: Highland Region, Scotland.