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JM Buchet Photography
The Rut in Abruzzo National Park
The rut in the heart of the Italian mountains...
The rutting season is an ancestral ritual, and yet, over the years, it is never quite the same experience.
After many years spent photographing it in the Ardennes forests on the heights of the Semois, I wanted to discover how it lives elsewhere. Different landscapes, different light, different observation conditions… and around the deer, a whole environment that also changes.
And particularly here in this Abruzzo National Park, where deer are not hunted, I was able to observe, to my great delight, a proximity with deer that I had never known before.
Ladies first
During the rutting season, it's common to encounter does, sometimes with their fawns, seeking peace and quiet amidst the organized commotion! Occasionally, some will leave their fawns in a "safe" spot and wander off ...
Hidden in the forest, it's often difficult to get good light. And yet here in Abruzzo, the trees often let in generous rays of sunlight. I like to use them to highlight certain details...
I've witnessed deer taking mud baths on several occasions. However, a beauty mask as spectacular as this one is a first!
In any case, their pricked ears betray a constant attentiveness to the sounds of the forest!
Time for the gentlemen… or… the gentlemen have arrived!
The Rut
Turn up the volume… 🔊
The confrontation
Gazes...
Attitudes...
Atmosphere
The river
Next to the rut...
The rutting call inevitably captures attention… but during these long hours spent in the forest, sometimes all it takes is to look around a little to discover other inhabitants of the place.
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