What’s that surprising sound coming from the forests each year, between September and October? It’s the deer’s slab.
Brut nature followed wildlife photographer Jérémie Villet into a forest to understand this phenomenon.
Brut nature followed wildlife photographer Jérémie Villet into a forest to understand this phenomenon.
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00So we are in the Rambouillet forest and we are going to observe the deer's brawn.
00:06So the first step to photograph animals is to hide the face and hands because the skin
00:31scares them a lot.
00:33Then we have to move forward in front of the wind so that the smell doesn't go to the animals.
00:41We can feel the wind coming from the north.
00:44Or to see, we can drop pollen or seeds.
00:48We can see that there is a bark behind me.
00:52It means that the wind is good.
00:56And then we use what we call the tracks.
00:59It's the passages that the animals use.
01:02For example, to see a passage.
01:04And then it goes this way.
01:06And so we make less noise.
01:08So we are going to settle there.
01:25We are going to put a cover.
01:26That is to say that we are going to put camouflage and we are going to sit down.
01:29We are not going to move.
01:30The camouflage will hide the shape we have of the man.
01:32They will not have two legs.
01:34They will not assimilate what is the deer.
01:37And there we have a view on a marsh where they can come.
01:39And behind there are passage areas.
01:42There may be wild boars too.
02:00And in fact yesterday I put myself there.
02:02There is a deer that was entering the pond.
02:04It was a big deer with 15 bodies.
02:06That is to say with 15 points on the woods.
02:08We call them andouillés.
02:09An old, hyper-muscled deer.
02:11I show you the images.
02:13In fact, the deer was hidden just on the left there.
02:16And he rolled into the mud to cool down.
02:19And he broke with his woods.
02:21He scattered on the vegetation.
02:24He tore everything off.
02:25It was great.
02:26It was just sunset.
02:35So there we had a view until the night.
02:37We can hear the deer mooing all around us.
02:40But we didn't see them in front of our camera.
02:44So we're going to go to bed.
02:46Instead of their cries, their moos.
02:49And then we hope to see them tomorrow morning.
02:51Or maybe one tomorrow morning.
03:05The sun is rising.
03:07We spent the night in the middle of the deer.
03:09We heard them mooing all around us.
03:12It's fascinating to hear very powerful cries without seeing them.
03:16They are trying to get territories,
03:18which are called places of moos.
03:20Where a big deer will stay for them.
03:22To try to keep some meat for him.
03:24He will moo very loudly.
03:26He will scream a very powerful roar.
03:28To show his strength.
03:31For a month, from mid-September to mid-October,
03:35he will take care of this area.
03:38He will defend it as best he can.
03:40By screaming and showing his opponent his level of strength.
03:44There are other deer that will come around.
03:47We call them pretender deer.
03:49They will scream to show what strength they have.
03:53So it's a whole night of verbal moos.
03:58They will scream very loudly.
04:02And if they can't share,
04:04if one of them is as strong as the dominant deer,
04:08he has the right to come inside the place of moos.
04:11Like an arena.
04:13They will do what we call a parallel walk.
04:16They will judge each other.
04:18To see if they are the same size.
04:20If they are as powerful.
04:22And in this case, they will fight.
04:24They will put their wood face to face.
04:26They will charge and push with all their strength.
04:29There is a whole ritual.
04:31And the goal for them is to stay as long as possible in this area.
04:44There is a wind.
04:49There is a wind and a bee.
04:52You can see his head.
04:55Bees stay with their fangs for more than a year.
05:00We call it a matriarchal cell.
05:03For example, here, she still has the young fang of the previous year.
05:09That we call an R.
05:11This is the period when she separates a little.
05:14But for a long time, she stays with her fang of the previous year.
05:19And she takes care of it completely.
05:22And the bees live without the fangs for the whole year.
05:26There is only during the Brahm where the bees and the fangs meet.
05:34There is a young fang that is there.
05:36Right in front.
05:38You can see it through the branches.
05:41As expected, he smelled it.
05:43The smell of the bees.
05:45So he took it back.
05:47He went to the same place as her.
05:51It's a fang that is two years old.
05:53A young fang.
05:55There is already wood with spikes.
06:01The morning has passed.
06:03We saw a fang.
06:05Then we saw a young fang.
06:09Then we saw two fangs too.
06:11They went to bed in the vegetation.
06:15We will be able to leave slowly.
06:18Without disturbing them by the place we arrived.
06:39I brought wax boxes.
06:41Every year, the waxes lose their wood.
06:43At the end of winter, in February.
06:45Then they grow back in six months.
06:47And then they are ready for the Brahm to fight.
06:49This wax is still alive.
06:51I picked up these two woods.
06:58We don't see the waxes.
07:00They are very discreet most of the time.
07:02Except during the Brahm.
07:04Especially when they lose their wood.
07:06They need to go to the fields.
07:08To get food.
07:10They hide in the fields.
07:12When their wood grows back.
07:14Thanks to all the food they take.
07:16During the Brahm, the waxes are fed all summer.
07:18So they have a lot of strength.
07:20Because during the Brahm, they will not feed.
07:22They will only think about reproduction.
07:24They lose up to 20% of their weight.
07:26By fighting.
07:28And by making a physical effort for a month.
07:31It's quite strong.
07:33To think that we are touching wood that has been beaten.
07:35In places that we do not know.
07:37And that belongs to the king of the forest.
07:39To this huge and powerful animal.
07:41The Brahm is the most fascinating moment.
07:43To go and see the waxes.
07:45Because it's the moment when they are demonstrative.
07:47Where we hear a lot of noise.
07:49We can spot them.
07:51It's the best time to go to the forest.
07:53But it's also the most sensitive time for them.
07:55So you have to be very careful not to disturb them.
07:57Or if you go alone.
07:59You stay on the paths.
08:01You listen in the distance.
08:03It's almost better as an experience.
08:05You go to the nightfall.
08:07You hear the waxes in the distance.
08:09And you see a lot of other things.
08:11It's a good excuse to reconnect with nature.
08:29You