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Poorly muntjac


chubby

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About 5 this morning i was woken by an almighty banging on the side of my boat and an awful yelping sound . On investigation something was trapped between the boat and the canal side . 

I untied the bow rope and it swam out . I couldnt see what it was in the dark and it bolted so to speak . It swam into a lock 50 metres away so i closed the gates to trap it . 

It took an hour or so  to get it out - very string swimmers ! .But it was on its last legs poor thing and i couldn t get it until it was on the brink of giving up . But i managed to haul it out . 

It laid there all but motionless for about 5 mins and eventually i could hear snorting so it was breathing . I tucked into blakets and put it into the saloon of my boat and in time it began trying to push itself up onto its legs but hadn t the strength but it was fighting .

RSPCA are on the way  but ive no idea when theyll arrive - soon i hope as its not an easy thing to watch . The little fellow has seemingly given up trying to get on its legs and is now sat very still but shivering a great deal . Its as if its given up . 

Quite a difficult thing to witness really even for an emotional brick wall like myself - i hope it pulls  thru .

Fingers crossed please....

  • Greenie 3
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well done, I'd guess it's shaking through shock, that can be a killer for any creature not used to close contact with humans, hope it pulls through.

Good job it didn't happen round here as in the Fens they are classed as vermin and are culled with extreme prejudice . Currently huge herds are destroying Thetford Forest, they are very cute but a pest none the less.

Phil

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Shock is what i put the shivering down to aswell  . Its im ny front room near  a warm stove and covered in blankets so its not exactly an environment thats familiar . 

It has a 1" cut on its left ear which has been bleeding . A very neat cut . Its still shivering and its fur is still damp but the stove is on as im trying to keep it warm . 

This little ones not a pest ... its breaking my heart poor little thing . 

 

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We rescue several a year from the Fossdyke. Once they fall in they can not get out again with the piled edges. Horrible way to go for them which sadly many do.

They usually run off though when rescued so yours must have been very close to giving up.

Well done for rescuing it.

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They are also classified as pests around us, numbers increasing exponentially as they breed at a very young age*.

They are such a nuisance that the Government has removed the 'statutory close season' so they can be killed at any time during the year.

 They are very destructive, and the cost to local agriculture is huge - they are shot on sight.

Edit to add : Their only redeeming feature is that they are exceptionally good to eat and well worth keeping haunch in the freezer.

* In contrast to all other species of deer in Britain, muntjac do not have a defined breeding season (rut). Instead, they breed all year round and the does can conceive again within days of giving birth.
Does are capable of breeding at seven months old. After a gestation period of seven months they give birth to a single kid and are ready to mate again within a few days

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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I don't know what it is with deer and canals but we've encountered several dead in locks and I hauled a (live) roe deer out of the Bridgewater a few weeks back, usual problem the poor thing couldn't get out because of the concrete edging.  Cows and sheep seem to be pretty good at falling in canals but you would think a wild thing would have a bit more nous.

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The poor thing has been just sitting there shivering since seeming to give up trying to get its legs . I moved the blankets back a bit and it seemed to respond with a jolt . 

" Righto - enoughs enough little one " i thought and so i tried to pick it up to see if it had any fight left in it . It certainly did and let out a huge yelp and began throwing its legs about .

So i grabbed it and picked it up , legs all over the place , up onto the well deck and onto the towpath . I carried it about 30 - 40 metres to tje woods next to my boat and put it down . 

After a moment or two it was up and away and gone into the woods 

Happy days - im over the moon ! 

I have a few photos of the little thing so thats nice and a happy ending afterall . It seems it needed to be " forced " to get on its legs after warming up a bit and having a rest after its extended swim . 

Time tor a cuppa 

cheers

  • Greenie 1
  • Happy 1
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Hi,

Interesting to read of the Muntjac's pest status, I live 1/2 a mile form the Town centre in Chesham and the small deer live in undergrowth at the bottom of my garden. Now reached the stage where I can no longer grow beans etc as they eat the lot, I have a camera and some days they spend 3 or 4 hours in the garden plus evening visits. They also rest up during daylight hours in shrubs in the front garden waiting to cross the road.

Take extreme care if moving them - they have 2 very sharp horns, one took exception to being moved after a road accident and it's horn cut my lower arm badly.

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I too am surprised by its pest status . Of course this means its a detrimental to human habitation , or more likely someones income . I have no idea of course . If theyre in some way a problem to other animals or a carrier of disease then ok - pest is accurate . 

I suspect its to do with farmers and incomes .... dunno .

In my opinion its usually homo sapien thats the pest & i look forward to day the species is eventually extinct . Hopefully i could even witness the event that brings about its extinction . Then the planet might be able to get back to being a nice place again . 

Extreme .. probably ? . 

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3 minutes ago, chubby said:

In my opinion its usually homo sapien thats the pest & i look forward to day the species is eventually extinct . Hopefully i could even witness the event that brings about its extinction

That maybe 'unlikely' as whilst you continue to exist to witness the extinction, then the species will not be extinct.

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15 minutes ago, chubby said:

I too am surprised by its pest status . Of course this means its a detrimental to human habitation , or more likely someones income . I have no idea of course . If theyre in some way a problem to other animals or a carrier of disease then ok - pest is accurate . 

Interesting (short) article of which this is a brief extract :

Don't let its seductive, doe eyes fool you. Or its glossy russet coat and Bambi looks. No, the muntjac is a wolf in deer's clothing - and it's taking over Britain.

In fact, so great is the threat posed by this innocent-looking creature that Wildlife minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, has included the muntjac on a most-wanted list that names and shames the six foreign invaders wreaking havoc on our countryside.

Alongside such villains as the Chinese mitten crab, the Russian zebra mussel and South American creeping water primrose, the Asian muntjac has been named Britain's most dangerous and destructive deer.

They devour native woodland plants at a terrifying rate, destroy vital bird habitats and can go berserk if unleashed on a suburban garden. They also breed like rabbits.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1259943/Muntjac-deer-threat-wildlife.html

 

And, from a BBC report:

Scottish Natural Heritage has issued deer managers with a "shoot on sight" call after muntjac deer were reported in Dumfries and Galloway.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Interesting (short) article of which this is a brief extract :

Don't let its seductive, doe eyes fool you. Or its glossy russet coat and Bambi looks. No, the muntjac is a wolf in deer's clothing - and it's taking over Britain.

In fact, so great is the threat posed by this innocent-looking creature that Wildlife minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, has included the muntjac on a most-wanted list that names and shames the six foreign invaders wreaking havoc on our countryside.

Alongside such villains as the Chinese mitten crab, the Russian zebra mussel and South American creeping water primrose, the Asian muntjac has been named Britain's most dangerous and destructive deer.

They devour native woodland plants at a terrifying rate, destroy vital bird habitats and can go berserk if unleashed on a suburban garden. They also breed like rabbits.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1259943/Muntjac-deer-threat-wildlife.html

Interesting - Here in South Bucks we are plagued by one more introduced invasive creatures - Edible Dormice or Glis Glis, introduced at Tring Park by Lord Rothchild, they cause huge problems to property owners in an expanding area, they chew and 'poop' over everything, particularly bad on our moorings at Cowroast - we appealed to Lord R. for compensation for our losses to no avail.

 

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49 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Interesting (short) article of which this is a brief extract :

Don't let its seductive, doe eyes fool you. Or its glossy russet coat and Bambi looks. No, the muntjac is a wolf in deer's clothing - and it's taking over Britain.

In fact, so great is the threat posed by this innocent-looking creature that Wildlife minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, has included the muntjac on a most-wanted list that names and shames the six foreign invaders wreaking havoc on our countryside.

Alongside such villains as the Chinese mitten crab, the Russian zebra mussel and South American creeping water primrose, the Asian muntjac has been named Britain's most dangerous and destructive deer.

They devour native woodland plants at a terrifying rate, destroy vital bird habitats and can go berserk if unleashed on a suburban garden. They also breed like rabbits.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1259943/Muntjac-deer-threat-wildlife.html

 

And, from a BBC report:

Scottish Natural Heritage has issued deer managers with a "shoot on sight" call after muntjac deer were reported in Dumfries and Galloway.

Thanks for this - every day is  a skool day afterall . So it seems that as a species it is a " pest " .

Having said that it has appeared on a list created by " a member of parliament " & its accuracy is immediately questionable is it not ? 

Also " taking over britain " is a bit bollocks isnt it ? I just bought a bacon sandwich in town and it wasn t made a deer wearing an apron . The daily mail make it sound like day of the triffids and that the countryside is about to turned into a desolate place where all other wildlife is history . 

Id suggest that homo sapiens in one hour cause more destruction than all the muntjac in britain . 

If theyre an introduced species how did they get to the Uk ? Ive seen first hand that they are strong swimmers  but i doubt that that they d take on the distances involved . Theyre here because humans put them here & now other humans are moaning about thier presence 

Yawn . Humans cause the problems , not deer . 

Edited by chubby
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Well done Chubby. Makes no difference to our government if the species is native or not. Look what's happening to our native badger population right now and look at the amount of non native pheasants in the countryside. It's all controlled by money and some rich land owners who think it's all theirs for the taking. Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

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18 minutes ago, artleknock said:

Will you not be breaking the law if you let it go?

As a non indigenous species it is illegal to release back into the wild, it should be humanely destroyed and roasted for Sunday dinner :)

I guess Plod will be at the door sometime soon to ask me some questions about my crime . 

Im planning a nap so i hope the meat wagon doesn t have its sirens blaring when it gets here . 

 

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9 hours ago, Peter Reed said:

This from Wiki.A large feral population of barking deer exists in England. Reeves's muntjac has been introduced to England, with wild deer descended from escapees from the Woburn Abbey estate around 1925. 

I assumed that Chubby's question post 18 was rhetorical, as I had already provided a link (post 16) which contained the information.

Wiki has the information partly correct (not uncommon) except that it was introduced by the Duke of Bedford in 1900 rather than 1925

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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