long haired fallow

stone

Well-Known Member
hi all
this is just a general question as to if anyone can give info on the long haired fallow ?
i hav found very little in the way of info and pictures on the net,maybe 1 or 2 of you hav had some experiances with them.
hope fully will take a few pics of them in the new year if i can actually tell them apart from the others
many thanks in advance
stone
 
I love long haired fallow but the trouble I have is deciding which end to shoot!

guineapig-longhaired-peruvian.jpg


Sorry Stone, I just could not help myself.
 
I went stalking them near Much Wenlock with a stalker from Minsterley Ranges and saw sod all but a snow blizzard! :eek: No wonder they have long hair! :lol:
 
They are native to the general Mortimer Forest area to the west of Ludlow and 25 -30% of the fallow population in that area are long haired. Apparently the FC culls are biased towards taking normal fallow to enhance the status of the long haired variety.

I am surprised that the Wenlock Edge fallow include some long haired animals as it's a fair way from Mortimer and those fallow are supposed to have originated from Lognner Hall and Attingham.

There's quite a good reference to them in Peter Carne's book on the Deer of Britain and the Heart of the Country programme on the Horse and Country Channel (Sky 280) recently featured them.
 
ok ok very funny
on a more serious note i have on several occasions not pulled the trigger as i was not sure . i do not thnk it is illegal to shoot one but knowing this maybe their only strong hold this time shooting with the camera maybe a more suitable option
heres a top tip andy { just whistle and look to see which end the ears pop up from
 
i hear what you are saying paul but would be surprised to find the percentage so high, well in the area i am in they are not that noticable but the FC hav approached us and told us we were not to shoot them as they were protected or are they just sscaremongering
 
Thanks Stone, I will remember that tip. Previously I have been sitting waiting for hours for one to have a cr*p!
 
Hi Stone
I stalked a few times in Mortimer forest and have a few places around the western edge but I have never seen a Long haired fallow. I've seen a few photo's taken by friends and there was quite a noticeable difference in the coat length in these. I don't know about them being protected but from what I've heard at some of the DMG meetings I attend I think they have had major poaching problems around Ludlow over the last few years and are concerned about them getting wiped out.

Wayne
 
I don't think that they are legally protected as such. What is clearly happening is that the FC are trying to take pressure off them by encouraging stalkers to leave them in the population.

According to Whitehead the long haired characteristic is based on a dominant gene and it was discovered by Gerald Springthorpe in 1953. The sub-species is named after him.

Some reports indicate that they had spread into Herefordshire and most authorities reckon that up to 30% of the Mortimer population are long haired but as Wayne says, poaching may have altered that more recently.

Here's a photo lifted from the FC archive

springthorp_fallow.jpg
 
i do admit i hav only seen one in my life that was noticable a long haired and that was shot late one evening (not by me) and the same mistake has never happened since the ones ihav seen live were to far up the hill to see properly even through the binos and then some one else identified them, i am still not sure if he was right but he tells me he see's them all the time on shoot days i can not disclose the precise area but the mortimer cross inn does a good pint next time i am in there a toast to gerald is in order
 
going pheasant shooting on friday by where these long haired beasts hav been seen, after the shoot, i am going to try and stalk some with the camera
 
long hair fallow.jpg
stone sorry its 8 years late, here is a screen shot from some trail cam videos I have of what I think are some long haired fallow I found whilst doing a deer survey.
long hair in ears and curly crown, they are leaving a lot of hair while they are changing coat!!

cheers
 
According to Whitehead the long haired characteristic is based on a dominant gene and it was discovered by Gerald Springthorpe in 1953. The sub-species is named after him.

Is it not just a "local" phenotype of D dama rather than a seperate sub species?

Its a mutation & I'd be culling them all out myself.

Sharkey
 
View attachment 56410

stone sorry its 8 years late, here is a screen shot from some trail cam videos I have of what I think are some long haired fallow I found whilst doing a deer survey.
long hair in ears and curly crown, they are leaving a lot of hair while they are changing coat!!

cheers

To me this appears to be a regular "common" fallow starting its summer moult.

Sharkey
 
To me this appears to be a regular "common" fallow starting its summer moult.

Sharkey

I agree. I'd not be 100% sure that's a Mortimer fallow (dama dama springthorpei). I saw a picture of one the other day and I'm trying to remember where - if I find it I'll post it, but the curly hair in the ears was much more apparent than it looks in the trailcam shots.
 
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