Listen: Stag bellowing season underway in French forests

The stag mating season is now well underway in France and is expected to last until around October 15.

Several regions in France observe the event, known as the brame du cerf, including the department of Oise.

Nighttime forest walks led by forestry guides are one event often held to mark the season, and there is even a competitions where contestants imitate the noises of the animals.

Yves Normand, of the national forestry office (l’Office national des forêts or ONF) told news service FranceInfo: “[Stags] have a very developed sense of smell so if there is one nearby then it probably already knows that [humans are close by].”

Mr Normand said that hearing the sound for the first time was unforgettable but that it was important for people to keep their distance.

“When you hear it for the first time, it’s very memorable! But we shouldn’t get too close for safety reasons. There have been accidents - it’s rare but it has happened," he said.

“When they are in calling season, stags are full of testosterone. This rise in hormones makes the males aggressive. They fight and can even kill each other," he added.

Imitation competitions

Every year there is also a stag bellowing imitation contest, with people competing to perform the most authentic sound. The winner of the national competition then goes on to compete at European level.

Participants are judged on the depth, length and tone of the imitation.

In 2024, the competition took place in June in Saint-Laurent, Ardennes, with participants competing to become the champion of France.

Stag imitation is not simply entertainment, but also useful for attracting stags to track or photograph them.

In 2015, The Connexion spoke to the then champion stag bellower Alfred Bour, from Réding in Moselle, who won the competition that year.

He explained: “I tried everything – shells, horns... but it’s a bakelite tube that works best for me. It’s all done in the way you vibrate your vocal chords and manage your breath, a bit like an operatic tenor.

“There are different sounds for a young stag, an old stag, a stag with does etc. I can do them all, though some people find the young one harder because it’s higher and more melodious and goes from high to low up and down the scales.

"I learned [how to do it] from a friend of my father who was a hunting guide – we went into the forest and he taught us what to do."

If you would like to hear stag bellowing, visit this page to find a location in your area.