we were out on an equinox morning and driving along a road in the middle of nowhere when we spotted a whole herd of them
maybe twenty or so, some of the stags had grass and moss on their antlers as it was the start of the rut.

As we drove slowly past we noticed a particularly big stag stuck on the other side of the road, as it ran faster to get in front of us and to the other side we sped up a bit more, it was unwilling to come anywhere
near the car so there was no chance of a collision, so there it was this big stag racing us through the most unspoilt countryside in the country.

Throughout the autumn, males fight to secure the right to breed. For much of this time stags do not eat and may lose 20% of their body weight. As a result some die from exhaustion while many others, weakened by their exertions during the rut, do not survive the winter.