This month, London’s parks become secret classrooms for wild youngsters. Red deer calves learn to freeze at their mother’s command, while fox cubs—with their striking blue eyes and playful tail-tugging—turn gardens into adventure playgrounds. Nearby, badger cubs dig silent ‘snuff holes’ under the stars, their parents communicating in clucks and grunts. But danger lurks: why do deer mothers fake ruts? How can you tell if a fox or badger lives in that burrow?
Return June 20 to witness the tender, fierce, and sometimes smelly lessons of London’s wild families.
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Deer
Like most other mammals this month, deer are now tending to their young. After giving birth, the young are encouraged to remain hidden. In the case of red deer this may mean the calf is pressed down when it attempts to follow its mother. Females tend to sit nearby, keeping watch and only visiting their young occasionally to suckle. It is a dangerous time, as many young are taken by foxes. For this reason it is quite common this month for red, fallow and roe deer to attack predators. Mother and young are also in vocal communication in these dangerous situations. The young either keep still or make a run for it. Young roe deer quickly learn to follow the flashing white rump of their parent. The hind may have mock ruts with her kids, turning in circles or figures of eight, leading to the old belief that it was the females that always picked the rutting areas.
Fallow deer and muntjac usually have one fawn, whereas red and roe have one of each sex. Red deer guide their young with bleats, fallow deer whine and roe deer, which usually bark, are quiet this month. Captive deer can be seen in Maryon Wilson, Clissold and Victoria parks.
Park deer, being so well fed, tend to be larger, heavier and grow antlers with more points. They also tend to breed earlier than wild populations.
Foxes
Young foxes are now particularly attractive. When first born they are brown with small, pointed tails. They have blue eyes with elliptical irises that gradually turn to amber. They have inquisitive looks, erect ears and a very attractive playful manner. Sometimes they tug their mother’s tail as males sit aloof nearby. Vixens may now be abandoning their earths and may be seen digging new holes where the soil is soft.
Where a fox is resident, or cubs have been playing nearby, a strong, musky scent will linger. These play areas are often in the corners or edges of fields where there are ditches but are also common enough in London gardens. Dusk is a good time to listen for their shrieks and squeals and occasional yaps.
Badgers
Badger cubs are now following their parents on food expeditions. When a new area of soft soil is found they will dig with their parents, forming what are called ‘snuff holes’. If the whole family is present a substantial amount of damage can be done on a garden lawn overnight. Compared with other mammals, the cubs play silently. The parents are also usually silent, but are said to cluck when happy, chatter when unhappy, grunt when alarmed and scream if terrified. It is easier than usual this month to follow their tracks back to the sett as plants are often pressed down on the way and tufts of hair left on any sharp objects. Nearing the sett there may also be evidence of old bedding. When the hole is found it is easy to determine who is the resident. If it smells strongly, a fox is likely to be the incumbent rather than a badger, although sometimes they do cohabit together. The size of the inner burrow, not the entrance, will also determine whether there are rabbits or badgers below.
