EVEN a Royal - twelve-pointer - stag, like this one at Studley Royal has to break off from the rut to scratch the odd itch.

Roger Nelson, from Bolton Abbey took this wonderful picture of a stag at the deer park at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, Ripon.

The annual mating season, the rut is from October to January and is at its peak in the early hours of the day, or at dawn. The National Trust advises visitors to the park during the annual rut to watch the deer with binoculars at a safe distance, to leave dogs at home and to take notice of signs put up around the park.