Studies of red deer on Rum have revealed that the deer are starting to rut earlier in the year because of climate change. Scientists from Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities examined the records of deer behaviour collected on the island of Rum over the last 38 years.
The studies show that the annual rut, when males compete for a harem of females to mate with, now starts two weeks earlier on average. The researchers have said this could be because of warmer springs and summers. The research, published in the journal Global Change Biology, was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and supported by Scottish Natural Heritage.