The problem is hybridisation – interbreeding between Scotland’s native Red Deer and  the smaller Japanese Sika Deer brought into this country by 19th century Victorian adventurers and improvers.

A study into the consequences of  cross-breeding between the species was carried out in the Kintyre peninsula by a group of international experts from Australia, New Zealand and Scotland. Its results have now been published in the Journal of Animal Ecology.

While native Red Deer are, on average, normally one foot higher at the shoulder than the Sika Deer, the research has now shown that a key result of interbreeding is that Red Deer are getting smaller and Sika are getting bigger.

There is also a threat to the picturesque, with hybridised Red Deer stags likely to grow no more than 8-point antlers, rather than the full 12-points of Monarch of the Glen fame.

While this cannot be much of a surprise, as hybridisation would tend to produce a median result, there is concern that a newly created species may emerge through the easily fertile hybrids, offering a threat to both original species.

Island herds are easier to isolate and there has been success there in protecting the integrity of the Red Deer. The mainland situation is, of course, more complex and harder to control.

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