One-eared Muntjac

Went out to capture yet another sunrise. Despite almost clear skies at 7:30 am after a brief display of wispy pink clouds and vapour trails the sun never appeared.

I was idly walking across the common looking for potential subjects when I disturbed an animal in a thicket. Initially I thought it was a fox, about the right size and colour and expected it to slink off quickly.

It wasn't. Instead to my amazement it was this Muntjac buck. He keened at me and although he was obviously wary he didn't run away as is often the case with deer. Instead he settled under a small tree. He allowed me to get within a couple of metres, just watching me as I changed the wide angle for a telephoto zoom lens. I had to set the iso at 3200 initially, reducing it for this final shot (which i was able to take using the tripod).

Oh, and by the way, he has two ears. For some reason his right ear is tucked back behind the pedicle. This is only the second time I have seen a Muntjac in this area of the country. A rare animal indeed.