Deer in Pontypool

paul k

Well-Known Member
I was watching Iolo Williams new series on "Great Welsh Parks" and the programme in question was featuring Pontypool park which is essentially urban and quite a long way from known deer habitat. He mentioned that many people had observed occasional deer in the park and called in a guy from the Deer Initiative to have a look. He was content that there were signs of deer having been in the woods and from the height of the browse line thought they might be roe although one report from the park staff referred to a "stag", again conceivably a roe buck but more likely a fallow buck. It would be nice to think that roe were working their way into the Welsh valleys as there is a lot of good habitat now as long as the lampers and dog boys leave them alone.
 
Hi Paul,

There have been reports to Roe being around the Pontypool area for a while now whether they have got there by themselves or thumbed a lift with Ivor Williams no one will say but after being on the box you can Guaranty that every man and his dog will be there now


ATB

Pau D
 
I'm going to take back what I said about Pontypool Park being a long way from known deer habitat, they wouldn't need too much of a ride with Ifor at all as roe have been present around Monmouth and the Wye Valley for a while, that probably means they've got into the Usk valley and it's only a few miles from there to Pontypool. Fallow probably have a little further to go. The other thing that was clear on the programme is that the deer sign was probably not recent and phototraps came up blank so they may not be hanging around.
 
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Several years ago I had a phone call from a friend who lived behind Usk college who was sat in his house looking at four deer in his garden. From his description they sounded like they may be Roe and this was confirmed when I looked at the slots left behind.
I have another friend who lives down by the Black bear who had fallow in his field and fallow were also seen in Lasgarn woods

A nice roe buck was shot at Raglan by a member off this site as the landowner didn't want deer on his land
 
Fallow escaped from the community farm in Cwmbran a few years ago not all were caught. There was also a fallow doe around llandegffyd reservoir, Don't know if it has been shot or not yet.
Regards Sean
 
Fallow escaped from the community farm in Cwmbran a few years ago not all were caught. There was also a fallow doe around llandegffyd reservoir, Don't know if it has been shot or not yet.
Regards Sean


Hi Sean,

fallow in Greenmeadow were released when the fence was cut.

They found the head of the buck in the woods opposite but not sure of the rest of the does
 
Hi Lads,

I think that only three fallow escaped one was found to be knocked over and as Elmer has said the Bucks head was found and I believe that the other doe has been shot there are a few fallow in a near by forest and a smattering of Roe I know that they have crossed the Usk as some have been sited on the other side of the Valley so the Roe seem to be spreading further West.
 
I live exactly one mile away from the entrance gates to the park so watched the TV program with interest. I was most delighted when Iolo's trail cam caught pictures of the otter on the Afon Llwyd that borders the park as my wife and I saw one only a mile away one evening a couple of years ago but our sighting was not totally believed by some folk who assumed we must have seen a mink. Iola also reported the white buzzards that have been regulars at the park for some years and showed film of the dippers by the old mill pool near the leisure centre but somehow missed the kingfishers that frequent that part of the river.

Some years ago while walking in the park I got into conversation with a guy who was carrying out a project in the park. The chap was a shooter and he told me of the occasional sighting of muntjac in that area of the park nearest to American gardens and the folly. I have also heard reports from a fellow stalker of muntjac at Mamhilad which as the crow flies is only over the brow of the hill and some 1.5 miles away. A police officer who also shoots reported some time ago a roe as being sighted to the rear of the Wain-y-clair again in Mamhilad, and I also hear reports of a deer occasionally sighted near New Inn common again only the other side of the hill and in the general direction of Usk which would tie in with the sightings near the agricultural college at Usk. So these reports along with evidence by way of a muntjac road casualty on the Treherbert Road suggest that there are definitely some muntjac in the area and possibly some roe. I would however have been very pleasantly surprised in the trail cams that Iolo placed had actually caught a picture of a roe in the park itself as the park is far to active with dog walkers from first light until last. There again I never rule anything out.
I would however have been totally flabergasted if he produced pictures of the "stag" he mentioned.

Now as regards the escaped fallow from Greenmeadow community farm, Cwmbran. I can only think that some poor misguided person took pity on the poor creatures and the dreadfully small enclosure that they were being kept in and decided to release them to take their chances in the town. Unfortunately at least one fell victim to one of the local poachers, though I am told that some returned to the farm and were recaptured. There was I understand consideration to a plan at one time to shoot the escapees who had taken up residence in a small wood in the interests of road safety!
 
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Fallow escaped from the community farm in Cwmbran a few years ago not all were caught. There was also a fallow doe around llandegffyd reservoir, Don't know if it has been shot or not yet.
Regards Sean

Sean that could tie in with very occasional sightings of fallow near New Inn common at certain times of the year.
 
The farmers who run Usk college, (Williams) also have two farms at Pant-Y- CwCw near Llanbadoc and were telling me that they often see a deer sitting out with the cows up by Tower wood which is in between R.O.F Glascoed and Usk college. They were unsure as to what breed of deer it was but that it was fairly big.
 
On the subject of muntjac, I remember way back in the late 1960s or early 1970s the Monmouthshire Nature Society's annual report included a dead muntjac reported from Llanvapley, (which is on the "back road" from Monmouth to Abergavenny via Rockfield) there was a report of muntjac in this location in more than one year and that suggests a population except that this was a very long way from the nearest other muntjac at the time, which must have been around Oxford at best. Could this have been very early Ifor Williams involvement?
 
We are told Paul that the roe population has been gradually spreading down the Usk valley for a number of years but they are certainly not in any significent numbers, with only the odd one or two popping up now and again if given a chance. One chap who is keen on deer and eager to see their spread even told me that his wife informed him that she had seen a roe buck in a field close to his home, so he dashed home for lunch hoping to see it only to find that by the time he arrived where it had been seen somebody had already shot it.

I find it quite strange that considering that muntjac have been in Monouthshire for a very long time now that we haven't seen any great numbers. Especially as most folk say that by the time you have seen one they are already firmly established. We certainly have the right type of landscape to suit these lovely little deer.
 
Hi Lads,

There have been reports of Muntjac on the Llangibby estate near to the river and one that had been knocked over on the Usk road near the village not disbelieving this as a friend of mine had seen it lying there, there have been reports of them up in Wentwood but I have shot around there for years and still do but have never seen any trace of them


ATB Paul D
 
Definitely in Wentwood along with the white fallow as seen them on many occasions whilst lamping foxes around Parc Seymour area and Wentwood gate, also Pat the blacksmith from Llangibby used to see them a lot when working his springers near Kemeys Inferior along the A449
 
I saw Roe on Glan Usk estate back in 1988
But been a few years since I have been there
so no idea if they are in numbers or not
but good numbers of red near Ystradgynlais
 
Fallow escaped from the community farm in Cwmbran a few years ago not all were caught. There was also a fallow doe around llandegffyd reservoir, Don't know if it has been shot or not yet.
Regards Sean

Walking the dogs just over the hill from the reservoir this morning when I spotted what looked like fallow slots in the soft silt on the edge of a brook. I have never seen any evidence myself before of deer in this particular area so I moved closer to have a good look, unfortunately my GWP beat me to it and while I was picking my way carefully down the steep bank he put his bloody great size 9 pads directly over both sets of slots that I had spotted. :cry:
 
We are told Paul that the roe population has been gradually spreading down the Usk valley for a number of years but they are certainly not in any significent numbers, with only the odd one or two popping up now and again if given a chance. One chap who is keen on deer and eager to see their spread even told me that his wife informed him that she had seen a roe buck in a field close to his home, so he dashed home for lunch hoping to see it only to find that by the time he arrived where it had been seen somebody had already shot it.

I find it quite strange that considering that muntjac have been in Monmouthshire for a very long time now that we haven't seen any great numbers. Especially as most folk say that by the time you have seen one they are already firmly established. We certainly have the right type of landscape to suit these lovely little deer.

Sadly I think this is a problem in several parts of Wales, the deer just aren't given a chance with the number of lampers, poachers and general ne'er do wells around. We had roe creeping into North Wales at the end of the last decade and sightings were becoming quite frequent but they seem to have just disappeared since about 2010. Much of Wales is perfect roe country and if ever they do get well established they should do very well. I applaud those like Elmer who have them on their ground but are trying to let them build up a little, the trouble is that they step over the boundary and all that effort is wasted.
 
This is an interesting thread as I went to school in Pontypool Park, and I now live near Newcastle, Monmouthshire. Last summer a roe buck jumped out of the hedge at the top of my drive and landed on my Mrs car bonnett. This was 1pm in the afternoon. I saw the buck wander off up the road and then watched him as he vaulted the fence and ran off through a stubble field. I've also seen muntjac localy.
 
This is an interesting thread as I went to school in Pontypool Park, and I now live near Newcastle, Monmouthshire. Last summer a roe buck jumped out of the hedge at the top of my drive and landed on my Mrs car bonnett. This was 1pm in the afternoon. I saw the buck wander off up the road and then watched him as he vaulted the fence and ran off through a stubble field. I've also seen muntjac localy.

I fish not far from Newcastle and have seen roe slots on the river bank there.

Way off topic but when I was much younger a boy from Monmouth met a girl from Newcastle at a party and arranged to go out with her the following weekend, he had trouble finding the address and eventually gave up. He wasn't particularly happy as he'd driven to Newcastle upon Tyne!!!! It goes without saying that he was a sandwich short of a picnic!
 
I shoot the farmland attached to pontypool park ,( it goes from american gardens around and across the top off the park past the ponds around the ski slope and the down around the side of the park to the park gates garage by the canal , also it goes right back to mamhilad, I do all the fox control ,rabbit , squirrel etc,etc , I have been doing it for 6 years using lamps and night vision a on a regular basis and never seen a single deer day or night , but I will say that there are fallow on the farms between littlemill & usk by glascoyed ( the bomb factory ) which is only 10 minuet drive down the road from the park , as My grand father has permission to shoot on a farm by there also I do and we have been out with the shotguns in the day a few times and seen as many as 7 fallow there ... How do I know they are fallow ? ( I'm also I deer stalker ) the once we were no more than 50 yards away from them the we're on the other side of the hedge to us ad we was watching the for 15 or so minuets observing them ( condition size etc and the they where in good health & of good size . Also there are muntjac in cwmbran in the woods behind knauf insulation factory ( the big smoking tower on the way into cwmbran ) is I have seen signs and also seen them on 2 occasions :)
 
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