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  • Mon 23 December
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THE BELLOWING OF DEER IN THE WOODS OF OASI ZEGNA

THEIR CALL CAN BE HEARD IN OCTOBER, THE MATING MONTH

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The upper Val Sessera is full of wonders and not only in terms of landscape, flora and food & wine. The fauna populating Oasi Zegna – an area totaling 8,789 hectares, measuring 13 kilometers east to west and an average of 7 kilometers north to south  – is very varied, with mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

One of the most characteristic, and certainly the most beautiful, of the animals to observe in the area is the deer. And October is undoubtedly the ideal month to do so because it’s the mating season and the males bellow to get themselves noticed by the females. It’s a truly moving spectacle.

There are currently around 44,000 deer in Italy. Not a huge number but in any case more than in the 18th century, when the country’s deer population was nearly zeroed. Deer were reintroduced in Oasi Zegna in a program launched in 1997.

A deer in Oasi Zegna (photo: Stefano Ramella)


There are various signs indicating the presence of these magnificent animals: tufts of fur left on branches when they scratch themselves; marks left on the ground by their hooves for the far from peaceful purpose of staking out their territory; signs of movement around shallow pools of water that deer often use to rid themselves of parasites. Another indicator of their presence is their small, acorn-shaped droppings.

You can listen to the males bellowing if you know where to go, when and how to approach. It’s possible to see deer feeding if you stop at the Bocchetto Sessera service area and point your binoculars at Alpe Casari.

Oasi Zegna’s fauna is described and illustrated (with rigorous classifications) in “Guida zoologica su mammiferi, rettili and anfibi” (Zoological guide to mammals, reptiles and amphibians”. Click here to view all the Oasi Zegna guidebooks on sale in the Casa Zegna book shop when exhibitions are on. For info: 015 7591463 - info@fondazionezegna.org - www.fondazionezegna.org/casa-zegna/

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