Our main books page includes our reviews and recommendations of key bushcraft texts but today I'll be sharing something about a book I pick up on a recent trip to Sweden.
The English title would be Outdoor Life with Granddad but it currently isn't available in English, it includes a great selection of activities that could be undertaken out of doors with young people. The fact that it's authored by Lars Fält was one of the main things that attracted me to it, Lars has such a great reputation and it was nice to be able to get something of his written in Swedish. As my Dad likes to spend time with his children and now grand-children out of doors and to be able to share a book with him specifically about outdoor activities with granddad was really nice. Although to my children my Dad is farfar (literally Dad's Dad) rather than morfar (mum's dad). If you are confident with your bushcraft skills you may not gain a great deal of new knowledge from this book but it is a really nice read and there is a section I particularly like in the first few pages about how outdoor life was once an every day thing for many people rather than something novel. The author shares a couple of examples of how the Sami and how farmers divide up their year based seasonal factors and on what outdoor tasks require their attention.
Reading this book also made me think about some of the fun times my children have had with their granddad out of doors recently.
A few weeks ago I wrote about 'Mental GIS' which we all carry around with us subconsciously - our mental maps and knowledge interlinked which can make us as humans efficient hunter gatherers even if many of us don't practice those skills any more.
When I am out and about, whether it be for a gentle countryside walk with my family, a dedicated photography trip or a foraging session, I am drawn to certain features in the landscape depending on where I am. Rivers have always been a draw to me, particular smaller rivers in deep cut, wooded valleys. There is something about these valleys that never gets old to me. As a teenager on the North Devon coast I had plenty of opportunities to explore these sort of valleys, including in and around Exmoor, to this day one of my favourite parts of the UK.
Contemplating life alongside a river, on this occasion in Speyside in Scotland. The mountains you can just about see in the background are the Cairngorms. Osprey fly over head, Red Squirrels in the woodland, Roe and Red Deer too. Beautiful!
You may ask why Rivers - I honestly don't know the definitive answer to that question but I have a few ideas. The first comes back to this concept of mental maps, particularly resource maps. Rivers are a phenomenally rich resource to the forager:
First and foremost they are a readily available source of water. In the higher reaches of rivers where they run fast and clear it is also likely to be clean water which you can drink straight from the river. Even these days in areas where agricultural run off may have sullied the water, or in its lower reaches where it runs slow and silty, with simple techniques it can be filtered and purified to be made safe to drink.
They are a source of protein in the shape of water birds*, fish* and crayfish (although sadly these days an invasive species, the American Signal Crayfish which has driven our native White-clawed Crayfish to the edge of extinction). If you know where to look there may also be freshwater mussels or as you get closer to the coast and into the brackish and tidal zones of the river there may be other salt-water shellfish to harvest.
With a constant source of water and, further down the river at least, nutrient rich silts, river valleys are often a great source of plant food as well. To name a few, wetland areas associated with rivers are often home to sedges, some of which have seeds which can be eaten. Also in wetland areas or slow-flowing parts of the river and backwaters, Bulrush or Greater Reedmace (Typha latifolia) can be found which has edible rhizomes as well as being a useful tinder. These days in the UK several very common edible plants found along rivers are non-native species, certainly not something our hunter-gatherer forebears would have been familiar with - Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) and Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica). And by eating either of these you are also doing your bit for conservation by reducing the population of an invasive plant.
Some of the trees often found in close association with water are Willow species. Willow is an extremely useful plant to a bushcrafter providing bark for cordage & withies for basket making. In addition its bark contains Salicylic acid (in fact 'Salicylic' is derived from Salix, the Latin name for the Willow family) which is a component of aspirin and it has been known for centuries that chewing on willow bark could ease aches and pains and reduce fevers.
Barren perhaps in the winter as seen here but a veritable treasure trove of wild food and other resources. Although particularly low in this image when it floods the river will lie across the entire valley floor leaving when the waters receed a layer of nutrient rich silt. It is this reason why river valleys tend to be so fertile.
Downs Banks National Trust National Reserve in Staffordshire
I think we have pretty much established that rivers are useful for resources, and I really do think that my love of and fascination for rivers stems in some way to an instinctive draw to a landscape feature which is of use to me. But I don't think that's the whole story.
Rivers are beneficial for moving through the landscape. In a very modern sense we can see this based on how many roads or railway lines follow the course of rivers. In many circumstances the river bed itself will be the path through a landscape which experiences the least severe changes in elevation, waterfalls aside! By following these ready made paths modern engineers are saving themselves some time and effort but also in some respects creating for themselves different issues by placing their projects in the path of an immense erosive power - but that's another story.
I don't think this would have been unappreciated by the people who roamed the land when roads weren't even a futuristic dream. Especially during the summer, when vegetation was at its highest and most impenetrable, and the water level was lower likely exposing a portion of the river bank, using these natural routes to move inland from the coast or the opposite would have saved effort and ensured that food to fuel your travels was never far away. Certainly in dense woodland I have followed small rivers or streams, sometimes alongside them and sometimes by necessity in them to aid my movements and help me to move more quickly or easily. It has long been a goal of mine to follow a river from its source to the sea - I think it would be a fascinating journey!
In all this I have skirted around the potential of travel on the water itself. While not a expert in water travel I have been lucky enough to do a bit of kayaking and rafting both on rivers and the sea and it is a fantastic way to travel. Our ancestors in the UK may not have cashed in on this opportunity as much as other parts of the world, the effort required outweighing the advantages in many situations on a relatively small island. It is however well documented that early civilisations in other parts of the world focussed their travel on waterways with variations on the theme of dug out canoes and later in the northern hemisphere with bark canoes.
Even urban rivers can provide some aesthetic pleasure,
even if it does have to be out of focus to do so! This is the
River Trent in Stoke-on-Trent, where it flows through the
University campus. It might be very urban but that doesn't
stop the Kingfishers and Otters using it.
If you are referring back to the title you'll notice we are two thirds of the way through this tale. There will be those who read 'inspiration' in relation to 'river' and think I have lost it - city folks perhaps for whom rivers are places for stolen bikes and shopping trolleys, pollution outflows and perhaps if your lucky, the odd gull or duck. Luckily in Britain today even this inner city image of rivers is largely a thing of the past with tighter controls on pollution and water cleanliness but still the Thames in London or the Mersey in Liverpool are not the sort of rivers I look to for inspiration.
The picture that comes to my mind when I think of rivers is a small river, wooded valley sides rising steeply above, clear water trickling quickly through a jumble of moss-covered rocks and woody debris. A Dipper rushing past or watching you from a half-submerged rock. Perhaps a little further downstream a whistle and a flash of blue alerting you to what has got to be the UK's most colourful bird, the Kingfisher, going about its business. If you lucky some muddy footprints indicate a Otter isn't far away, and if your even luckier a glimpse of these now thankfully returning mammals. In the early morning mist a Roe deer perhaps, tentatively crossing from its shelter on one side to prime feeding ground on the other. As the sun gets higher, the dragonflies, the birds of prey of the insect world start to come to life. I could watch their aerial battles for territory and bright colours for ages before I got even a little bit bored. At the right time of year mayflies provide a spectacle, both as they 'dance' above the water and as they are fed on by every valley dweller you can imagine. I could go on... so I shall.
As a teenager I was lucky enough to work on a nature reserve for a week in Scotland. (On a side note, to any young person reading this, I cannot recommend highly enough this experience.) One day having been, I think, to check a hide over looking a large marshy flood plain alongside the river Spey, I spotted a family of fox cubs playing on a 'island' in the marsh, their earth was obviously located on the slightly higher and therefore drier ground above the wetland, among the gorse. On my return journey to my accommodation that evening, a gorgeous summer evening, I cut across the reserve - cresting a ridge having climbed up steeply through birch woodland I looked up to see an Osprey flying over, fish held tightly in its talons. Standing on the ridge wondering at this spectacle I had never witnessed before I became aware of movement in the valley meadow below - a Roe buck, summer coat radiant red in the low evening sun had moved out of the woodland to browse. What a day! Not all strictly river associated but all within a stones throw.
The view from the hide I mention. The 'island' where I saw the foxes is in the middle ground on the left, the meadow where I saw the Roebuck a mile or so up the valley to the North (right in this picture). But I have seen since that day Roe deer browsing through the marshland here - one doe in particular was wondering through selecting umbellifer flower heads to eat, the only time I have seen this and a perfect example of the selective feeding style of Roe Deer.
I know of no sound more relaxing and calming than the gentle trickle of a river to lull me off to sleep in an evening after a strenuous day out of doors. And in the same way I could sit, and have done on many occasions, and stare at a fire burning for hours, I could sit and watch a river flowing past, listening to its gurgles and trickles just as I listen to the pops and crackles of my fire. With the calls of Kingfishers or Dippers replacing the Tawny Owls I so often hear when sat by a fire in woodland.
Beyond the river itself the landscapes they have created can be awe inspiring all on their own, dramatic landscapes all over the UK have been carved over many millennia by the rivers which now seem like a side show in the valley bottom. Caves and tunnels, stacks and caves and water falls all indicate the sheer power of water in the landscape and can be as spectacular as their coastal counterparts.
We all I dare say have 'favourite landscapes' - I would certainly have to say that rivers and the associated valleys and wetlands are well up there for me. They provide food and fun, mental relaxation and the ability to move through the landscapes we love. What's not to like!
Richard
* - It needs to be remembered that the taking of certain fish and all water birds, and the methods of taking or catching them are restricted by law in the UK. In certain circumstances you may just need landowners permission, in other it is far more complicated.
Bank Holiday Monday means no regular work, just shed loads of non-routine tasks which are likely to be even tougher than my day job!
I was right, at 03-30, even my body groans when the alarm goes off but 30 minutes later I’m cursing my decision not to have set it for 03-00. Everything was neatly laid out where I could get it without waking the whole household although the gun cupboard door does need some oil to make that a little quieter.
I’m on my way by 04-00, knowing for sure that there will be sufficient light to shoot way before I get to the farm. Not far down the very quiet and bumpy fen road, a Hare came spinning out from under a car, obviously dead but not smashed to bits so that has to go in the carcass tray before I proceed, the loins and haunches were in good shape and will make a respectable meal for 4 and what is left over will bait the camera trap to see how many foxes we have in the locality.
On reaching the farm, I eased the door open quietly to realise I had wandered inadvertently in to a Cuckoo convention, I could here 6 to 10 of them competing with each other at all ranges from 100 yards away to about a mile I should think, the sound is a quintessentially British Spring sound but I’m not that excited about it as each one spells disaster for multiple nests full of Reed Warblers or similar host birds. It’s just not right to have children and abandon them for someone else to raise, especially when it means certain death for the offspring of the host bird, just not on…..listen up Cuckoos!
I set off on the lookout for Muntjac or a Roe Buck, everything else being out of season but of course I saw neither of the 2 species I really wanted but did see a Roe Doe and a lovely Chinese Water Deer Buck which I staked from about 600 yards down to 10, it was so close that I even filmed it on my phone, which is not noted for film quality or range but does demonstrate that if you can use the wind direction and cover to disguise your approach and presence, you can get pretty close to dinner, I mean wildlife.
The rest of my outing I spend walking, watching, listening and noting what I saw and where ready for the change in season. Yellow Hammers, Reed Buntings, Reed Warblers, Linnets, White Throats, Buzzard and Kestrel, Jays and a lot of live Hares, to name but a few of my companions on this beautiful morning. I know where there are a whole lot of plums to harvest much later in the year, I know where the Elder Flowers will come from for Cordial making, I saw the May Blossom blowing in the wind like confetti and filling up the wheel ruts and cleat marks.
Go on, get out there, what else is there to do at 3-30 on a summers morning?
Many a parent could relate to the following exclamation, heard on hundreds
of muddy British footpaths frequented by dog walkers:
‘Mummy, Mummy! A BEAR footprint!!’
We all have to start somewhere. For
many people today ‘tracking’ is simply a fun distraction to be casually ‘played’ at while out in the countryside,
and there is nothing wrong with this. Pointing out animal tracks or signs to
youngsters is a great way to engage them with the animal world which they get only
rare glimpses into. British mammals are largely nocturnal or at least very secretive
and therefore rarely seen (with the possible exceptions of Grey Squirrels and
Rabbits), especially by those for whom a trip to the outdoors is a rare occurrence.
If we rewind a few thousand years
however, these skills would have been anything but casually taught. They would
have been an essential component of the ‘Hunter-Gatherers Primary Education
Curriculum’ (please allow me a modicum of artistic licence here). In this era the
ability to interpret tracks and signs would have enabled our forebears to understand
what species used an area and to some extent how they used it (for food, water,
shelter, as a migration route, etc.). It would have allowed hunting trips to be
more targeted, ambushes better placed, and successful kills more common. This
literally could have been the difference between life and death for a family
group. This ability to interpret signs, along with the ability to make and use
weapons, singled out humans as the ultimate predator. Later these same skills misused
unfortunately led to less innocent episodes in our history when species were exploited,
sometimes to extinction.
To many in ‘developed’ nations it
may seem these skills are dead; a historical relic, or at least an unnecessary skill
- indigenous tribes around the world would disagree, many still practising the
sort of tracking skills which feed families rather than just interest infants.
Even in cultures where tracking your food rarely goes beyond a supermarket
shelf, these skills are still used and still useful, especially for ecologists
and conservationists. In a short blog post it is not my aim to teach anyone to
track - there are plenty of books written by people far more expert than me. But the following
brief introduction to how the ancient and largely unchanged skill of tracking (and
everything that goes with it) is still used in modern day science and
conservation I hope will inspire some people to give it a try.
(The following examples are all focussed on UK species, while there
will be some overlap with species found elsewhere I’m afraid my experience of
these is limited at best).
1) Tracks and signs to indicate the presence of specific species:
Badger track on a muddy path (above) Mink tracks on a river bank (below)
Using tracks or other signs to
establish the presence of a particular species is a hugely useful skill for
ecologists, especially those studying or protecting endangered and declining species
(e.g. otter, water vole, hedgehog) or monitoring problem species (e.g. high
populations of deer, invasive species such as mink, and predators such as
foxes). The most useful indicators will be different for different species and
generally speaking many of these skills are most relevant to mammals. Books
could be and have been written on this subject, below are just some examples:
Tracks - The most commonly thought of element of tracking. For
example, Mink tracks on muddy river banks are often the first visual indication
of their presence. Deer tracks at the point they cross a ditch or push through
a hedge can indicate where they access an area of woodland. In winter searching
in fresh snow is often a great way to see what has been out and about recently.
At other times of year a simple sand trap or just checking in areas of soft mud
can reveal a lot about what animals use the area. Mammals, especially large or
medium sized mammals are most likely to leave noticeable tracks of this type,
lighter species don’t have the weight to leave tracks except in very soft areas.
Droppings - Water vole and otter surveys among others are heavily
reliant on finding latrines (water vole) or 'spraint' (otter) to establish
whether the species in present. Many mammal species use droppings as a means of
marking their territory, placing them in obvious visual positions on a
distinctive feature (e.g. foxes) or in a latrine (e.g. badgers). Droppings
under trees or other structures can give away favoured roosting areas for
birds. Owl pellets, while not strictly droppings, provide a range of
information including their diet if you prise them apart and identify what the
owl was eating.
Burrows and Holes - Badger setts provide definitive proof of badger
presence (assuming the sett is active) but more importantly give an indication
of a territorial midpoint: with wide ranging territories badger footprints or
latrines may be some distance from the sett. Once you’ve found a badger sett or
maybe a fox earth, or other burrow, it may give you a good opportunity to set
up a sand trap or camera trap or some other monitoring tool to see how much
activity there is. Holes in old trees may house a bat roost, and a tell-tale
dribble of dark liquid (urine) can sometimes give these away. Not only mammals
use burrows: Kingfishers dig tunnels into high muddy river banks and again
their activity is sometimes given away by a white streak of guano below the
hole.
Feeding Sign - These signs are often far more difficult to identify,
and certainly harder to pin to a specific species. Some are obvious; badgers
digging up bluebell bulbs or wild boar rooting in fields or under trees, or
even beavers gnawing on trees - there are only so many species which could
leave that sign! The less obvious signs are more likely to be used as
supporting evidence of a species presence, rather than in isolation: looking at water voles again, food stashes consisting of pieces of vegetation, nibbled off at 45o are
useful supporting evidence to their presence along with burrows and latrines. Other
times feeding sign may just hint at possibilities: in a suitable area of woodland,
plucked feathers beneath a high up perch or a post may indicate the presence of a Goshawk (although more commonly Sparrow
Hawk). For feeding signs of predators, being able to identify the prey
species (from its remains, feathers or fur, broken eggshells or pieces in droppings or pellets) may be
able to give you an idea of the likely predator, with indications of a particular
feeding style refining your educated guess. An understanding of what species are
likely to be encountered in that particular habitat can help to narrow even further the list of potential ‘suspects’.
Harvest Mouse nest.
Nests - Some species nests are very difficult to tell apart, others
are very distinctive. Long tailed tits create stunning balls of moss tied
together with spiders’ webs and stuffed with feathers! Harvest mice nests,
woven carefully from grass leaves in an area of tall grass, crops or reeds can
only really mean one resident. Failing being able to identify the nest itself,
if you come across a nest with eggs or young already in it these are likely to be
recognisable as a certain species, although any unnecessary disturbance should
be avoided.
Fur, Feathers etc. - Again a good understanding of which species are likely to be present is useful when using these indications. Hairs caught on barbed
wire fences, shed feathers under roosting sites, sloughed reptile skin; all can
give useful indicators if not of a specific species, then at least that the
area is used, and by what sort of animals. Carcases, whether as a result of predation or road kill or any other reason are brilliant indications of a species presence for ecologists, although require little in the way of tracking knowledge and skill.
In all of these endeavours remember
not to be too carried away, especially to begin with, about always wanting to 100%
sure, enjoy the fact there is a little mystery sometimes. I found a sloughed
snake skin on a heathland last summer and immediately assumed it must be an
adder because of the habitat - a few months later when I finally got around to
confirming my find with an on-line UK Reptile Skin Guide (Google is a wonderful
thing & I’m far from a reptile expert) it turned out to be a grass snake, a
species I assumed not to be present because of how dry the site was!
2) Tracks in association with technology:
Technological advances have
changed the face of species monitoring. Camera traps, night vision and thermal
imaging once the preserve of well-funded researchers can all be had now by the public (although
Thermal Imaging equipment is still very expensive). However, all these technologies
are useless if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Recognising
tracks, well used animal paths (see the below video of a Chinese Water Deer on a very well defined game trail on farmland in East Anglia), oft used feeding areas or ‘home addresses’ will
enable camera traps to be placed where they have the best possible chance of
capturing the target species, or indeed any species!
Tracking is also useful with less
advanced but equally useful monitoring methods. Low tech but very effective
methods of monitoring include ink traps and mink rafts. Both work on a similar
principle, comprised of a tunnel into which animals are attracted. With a mink
raft a moist clay pad is used to record footprints and the natural curiosity of
mink is relied upon to attract them into the tunnel on a floating raft. An ink trap comprises a plastic tunnel with an
ink pad and a piece of paper - as small, and slightly larger, mammals enter to
find the bait they walk across the ink and record their tracks on the paper.
Good identification of small mammal tracks is essential to accurately identify
which species have used the tunnel. That’s where the books come in!
The uses for the ‘ancient art’ (or maybe not) of tracking
listed here can be practised by anyone, almost anywhere (inner city pavements
aren’t the best for footprints I concede). A basic knowledge of habitats,
species and behaviour are all you need to get started in meaningful tracking,
spotting the tracks or signs is just the start; the really interesting stuff is
in interpreting what you see. Books with good information on these topics, from
beginner to expert, are widely available and place this sort of investigative
natural history in the realms of any and every one! And the days when you find that track you just can’t
figure out, or that feather you just can’t place, give you an excuse to spend
another day in the woods… or maybe to buy a camera trap, to try and figure out
the riddle. Enjoy!
Richard
Just one word of caution:while these
skills are fun as well as real world science, and the opportunity to see oft
secretive species is thrilling, it must be remembered that there are many
species protected by law which must be observed, including several of the species
mentioned (e.g. bats, badgers). The level of protection varies but with some species
even disturbing the animals or their resting place is an offence. Stumbling
across a badger sett is one thing, returning to clear half an acre of bracken
and small trees so your camera trap has a good view is not a great idea, and
most likely illegal. Birds have typically even more protection than mammals,
indeed all UK birds species are protected by law to some degree. This must
always be born in mind before you get too close, or return to often.
For those who would like more information on protected species click on
this link to the JNCC (Joint Nature Conservation Committee) webpage on
protected species (for the UK).
Ray Mears is one of the leading experts on Bushcraft and Survival skills in the world, In this BBC interview he talks about his involvements in the hunt for killer Raoul Moat and describes how he went about tracking him; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-24335309
Tracking skills are often taught as part of the wide ranging set of skills which makes up 'bushcraft', although it's practical application to track murderers and criminals is the exception rather than the rule there are many real life applications of tracking. My countryside management students learn to recognise sign and determine from indirect observation of droppings, feeding signs footprints and other signs to determine the species of animal or bird and also to determine the population of a certain species and evaluate the amount of damage a certain species does. The following pictures show some sign and how it might be interpreted;
Typical damage caused to a young ash tree, in this case by a male roe deer (a buck), this bole scoring as it's known is caused by a male deer scraping upwards with the point or points of their antlers scoring the trees bark. The height of the damage above the ground is somewhat indicative of the species causing the damage.
A reeves muntjac 'slot' or footprint. Reeves muntjac are the smallest deer found wild in the UK, as you can see here the slot could almost be covered up with the pad of your thumb. You can also see from the more faded, indistinct prints surrounding this print that this one is much fresher.
A deer 'couch' a sheltered area, often under trees or in scrubby areas where deer lay up during periods of inactivity.
A picture from my time in Sweden, typical damage caused by a beaver.
What Mr Mears describes are these same skills amplified by his many years of experience and used in this case to track a human, and there really are many people who use tracking in their lives and careers in the countryside.
Up until the end of the 2012-2013 academic year I have always, as part of my teaching timetable at the college where I teach countryside management, taught a special needs group once a week. The lesson I take them for is their countryside and conservation lesson and effectively what they do with me is a 35 week long forest schools course. This includes animal tracking, firelighting, campfire cooking, willow coppicing, shelter building, woodwork, taking care of quail and pheasants, environmental art and other activities.
I was encouraged at one point to try and include more interactive technology in my lessons (not specifically these sessions) but I thought I would give it a try with this group, I got hold of a bunch of video cameras and asked the group to film all the signs of spring they could find. This was in late March, and they walked around the colleges farm filming buds bursting, shoots emerging, birds nests etc.. They really enjoyed to process of looking for signs of spring, taking turns operating the camera, and for those who were able making a commentary on film. I promised them that I would compile all their videos and make one film that they could watch out in the woods the following week.
When it was time for their next lesson and I sat them down in the woods around our campfire site to watch the video they had made on an ipad, it took them all of about 20 seconds before they were bored with the technology and wanted to watch the birds in the woods. Using the technology was fine, they were happy to go and try and film birds and plants and tractors and anything else they could find but watching the videos even though they had made them themselves WAS NOT AS INTERESTING AS BEING OUTDOORS! When they were making the film they were in an environment where their attention was automatically on the task at hand (Jensen 2008). There was no need for a special strategy to engage the students, they were meant to be learning about the countryside and they were in the countryside, they had a fun activity to do and they got on and did it and as a result some students with very special needs learned in the course of about two hours to identify several different plant species just from their buds and twigs.
I was delighted that at a time where computers, smart phones, ipads, ipods and TV seem to rule the lives of so many young people that this group of students found nature more interesting than a video.
Many skills which we asociate with bushcraft are still very much in use in the land management industries, with a backround in game and deer management this is one skill which I teach to my countryside management students which might be intersesting to those of you with an interest in tracking and ecology.
It's quite common to find animal remains in the woods and this is a method you can use to judge the approximate age of a deer from it's teeth.
This is part of the collection of lower jaw bones from a range of deer found localy which I use to help students learn how to identify the age of deer. Most of these jaws are from Chinese water deer but the second from the top is from a year old roe doe and the bottom fragment is from a muntjac buck. The way to estimate the age of a deer is is to look at the eruption of the teeth, discouting the incisors at the front of the jaw, most of which are missing in these photos, each lower jaw in an adult deer should have six teeth.
The rule is simple; if all the molars (the three rearmost teeth) are not erupted and the third premolar (the third tooth from the front) has three cusps the deer is juvenile.
A three cusped juvenile pre-molar
A partially erupted molar, is this deer an adult?
As a guide roe deer should have all their adult teeth, ie six teeth on each side of the lower jaw and a two cusped pre-molar by 13 months of age, Chinese water deer and muntjac mature slightly faster and should have all these teeth shortly before they are 12 months of age.
A full set of adult teeth, notice the third premolar only has two cusps and all molars are fully erupted.
Trying to judge the age of adult teeth is harder, the wear and tear on the teeth gives an indication of age but this depends on a deers diet and local conditions.
lightly worn teeth, notice the molar to the extreme right is not fully errupted (this is a juvenile deer)
Heavy wear on a full set of adult teeth. notice how the cusps of the teeth are almost completely worn away, this indicates that this deer was much more mature.
