A deer with a broken antler in the Kfar Adumim area/The Society for the Protection of Nature, Roni Heller
The deer has a problem:
Roni Heller, photographed this deer this week in the Kfar Adumim area, with one of its (left) antlers broken.
Heller, a resident of Mount Adar, is a nature photographer, taking photos mainly in the southern region, the lowlands, Jerusalem and sometimes also in the north.
According to him, he usually takes pictures of birds, but he also gets to document - like this time - other wild animals.
"I was very surprised to see that," explains Heller.
"It also looks relatively fresh, because when the deer moved, the antler was really swinging."
A deer with a broken antler in the Kfar Adumim area/The Society for the Protection of Nature, Roni Heller
"The deer apparently broke its antler in a battle over a property"
Amir Laban, director of the urban nature department at the Nature Conservation Society and a wildlife expert, explains that "There is no doubt that this is an unusual document. This is a male deer, which apparently broke its horn in a battle over a property. The broken horn indicates the great power exerted on the horns , during a fight between males. A male that breaks his antler, will usually lose his property as well and will join the herd of unmarried bachelors, inexperienced young people and rejected old men, where he will spend the rest of his life.
"The Israeli deer is a species in global danger of extinction, Israel is the last country, There are about 5000 individuals in it, which are threatened by development in the open areas, blocking of ecological corridors, multiple predators accompanying humans and illegal hunting.
These days, we are approaching the calving season, so if you happen to meet a lone goat in the field - move away immediately.
He is not an orphan, the deer is watching nearby."
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Deer
Kfar Adumim