A deer in the wild forest of Espace Rambouillet in the middle of the mating season.
-
F. Pouliquen / 20 Minutes
Right in the middle of the Espace Rambouillet, in Yvelines, in the heart of the forest, the lucky ones can follow in the footsteps of a guide to observe wildlife.
Currently, it is a majestic “spectacle” which is given to see and to hear: the roaring of the deer.
With the hope, behind, that these privileged moments will transform visitors into nature lovers.
A visit, led by Christophe Tétard, took place on Monday, in the early evening.
And
20 Minutes
was there.
You have to sit on the floor and be silent to fully enjoy it.
There, at the foot of a chestnut tree, in the middle of a forest which gradually falls into darkness.
At least, this is the invitation made to his guests for an evening, that Monday, by Christophe Tétard, guide at Espace Rambouillet (Yvelines), animal park of the National Forestry Office (ONF).
The reward will not be long.
Between the last chirps of the birds, the sound of cracking branches and that of acorns falling to the ground, resounds a long hoarse cry.
It is the slab of the deer, that roar that the deer utters during the mating season.
Not just any deer, but the dominant male surrounded by his herd of hinds - the group made up of females and their fawns - whom he jealously watches over.
They are only a hundred yards from us.
Last point from Christophe Tétard before taking his visitors to the - F. Pouliquen / 20 Minutes
A loud ping-pong between the dominant male and his satellites
With a little imagination, we can approach the slab of the complaint of a teenager in full molt who has been asked to do the dishes.
In deer, on the contrary, this cry must command respect.
"The dominant male pushes him as much to seduce the does and reassure the herd of his power as to keep his rivals at a distance," says Christophe Tétard.
Because to its regular slabs respond, almost at the same rate, those of the satellite deer, remained in the meadow, behind us this time, and which only ask to take its place.
Here we are in the middle of a curious game of sound ping-pong.
A “captivating”, “powerful” show, commented Fabrice and Adeline when getting up.
The couple had already come last year, “but it was raining and the deer had not roared quite a bit,” says Adeline.
And this time around, we brought my parents to show them this moment.
They will end the evening won over, like Marie-Bernard, taken there by her husband, who came to observe the deer slab ten years ago, already at the Espace Rambouillet.
“Simply brilliant and relaxing,” she says.
Listen, and especially see
It must be said that the thirty visitors who came this Monday evening were particularly varnished.
Christophe Tétard will tell them this on several occasions, and he is in a good position to know it, he who has been participating in the animation of these special “slab of the stag” guided tours for some twenty years now.
At the same time, we limit the risk of leaving empty-handed when coming to the Espace Rambouillet.
On the 250 hectares of the animal park, 180 which constitute the “wild forest”, deep woods where live in freedom, in the middle of wild boars, roe deer and fallow deer, about twenty deer and about thirty does.
"Either a good density, stronger than in the natural state", agrees the guide.
However, he had preferred to play his cards on the table, at 6.30 p.m., when welcoming his guests.
“We don't distribute hormones before the evenings.
If the deer want to roar, that's fine, if it's a day without, unfortunately, we can't do anything about it, ”he slipped with irony.
A fear quickly dispelled.
The first slabs will sound even before reaching the entrance to the "wild forest", and it will take a few meters inside to see, between the trees, the first deer and their majestic antlers.
This is the strong point of Espace Rambouillet: to listen as much as to see.
Because hearing the deer's roar is not so unusual for those who like to spend time in the forest.
Especially since it can be heard several kilometers away when the winds are favorable.
"Being able to observe these animals up close, on the other hand, is much more complicated," says Vincent, 34, who heard his first slab when he was 10, "but without being able to see the deer".
That Monday, stealthily, Christophe Tétard was able to take his group up to fifty meters from the herd of does and its dominant male.
"Impossible in the open forest, they would have fled us a long time ago," he said.
A deer in the wild forest of Espace Rambouillet in the middle of the mating season.
- F. Pouliquen / 20 Minutes
Not in conquered ground
At the Espace Rambouillet, which sees 100,000 visitors per year, wild animals have had to get used to the human presence.
Some will inevitably tick, even more when they learn that the park uses hunting to regulate populations, and agrainage [the fact of spreading food on the ground] to supplement the diet of animals, in high population density. on these 180 hectares.
Christophe Tétard in any case does not elude these subjects, and speaks of them a bit like the other side of the coin of the mission that the park set itself when it was created in 1972. That of helping citizens - particularly urban ones, discover them. Paris is only 50 km away - the great fauna of our temperate forests in their natural habitat.
With the hope, behind, that these privileged moments will transform visitors into nature lovers.
Nevertheless, “despite everything we strive to preserve the wild side of the fauna as much as possible,” assures Christophe Tétard.
We never come into physical contact with animals, for example, or give them names or numbers, and we make sure that our approaches do not make them run.
»In fact, we are far from feeling in conquered ground when we stroll between the trees of the wild forest, even with our guide to lead the way.
Even less when a boar on the alert defies us with a glance, seeing us pass a few tens of meters away.
This is where the explanations are precious.
“He's a male,” says Christophe Tétard without hesitation.
This is often the case when dealing with an individual who is walking alone.
It is the animal that I prefer to observe.
He is very curious, very intelligent, and absolutely not aggressive as we often say, but above all extremely fearful.
This one just tries to plunge into the pond, but hesitates because of our presence.
"
Dallas to Rambouillet
An invitation to resume our journey in the footsteps of the herd of deer, about which Christophe Tétard is still far from having told us everything.
In particular during the mating season.
“We are talking about a dominant deer, but in reality, it does not decide anything,” he begins thus.
It is the leading doe who decides everything in the herd, the mature one and who, as such, knows the territory best.
She is also almost always followed, that is to say that she had a baby during the year, which seems to give her a special aura with the herd.
As if the other does are certain then she will make the best decisions to ensure the safety of her fawn and, by extension, the herd.
"
In the same way, it is the doe that will choose its parent, and not the other way around.
"It happens very regularly that she pushes away the dominant male of the moment, hoping for better from the next one or from the one who will come later," explains Christophe Tétard.
One thing is certain: a dominant male never stays that way for a whole mating season.
This requires too much energy expenditure to be able to keep rivals at bay over time.
At the Espace Rambouillet, the one observed this Monday "is the first that we have seen so clearly this season", specifies Christophe Tétard.
How long will it last?
Hard to say.
“There are still braces [of young males of 1 or 2 years] in the herd, while the dominant male should have expelled them all at this stage of the mating season,” points out the guide.
A first sign of weakness, perhaps.
Christophe Tétard especially notes that opposite, in the herd of satellites, one of the deer is already slapping almost as powerfully as the dominant male.
To be continued.
Espace Rambouillet will be running its special “slab of the stag” tours until October 4 this year.
At the rate of one per evening except Sunday, but also on Saturday and Sunday morning [all the details here].
Monday, there were still places.
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