The Rutting Season
After the first rains of September, our rugged countryside comes alive to the sound of bellowing stags. Yes it's the start of the rutting season, one of nature's most spectacular events. It takes place from September to the middle of October; and it is the ritual of the male seeking females in their herd and grouping them.
Adversaries show their excitement by bellowing, this is a deep bell-like sound which can be heard many miles away. Males defy each other and start ritual combats, crashing their antlers, to establish dominion over the females of the harem. Antlers get their full significance during this time. As a result, it's not unusual that the prevailing male covers most of the females in the herd.
Once their mission is fulfilled, their antlers become unnecessary and become a heavy hindrance, so at the point the magnificent pieces fall and new ones start to grow to replace them. The old weapons, dismissed by their owner, will not be wasted as the small rodents who eat their way through them will get an extra input of calcium. This way nature makes good use of the victory and also of the defeats in the ritual combat.