Connor McLaren via SWNSTwo young stags were spotted ‘fighting for supremacy’ during rutting season in the shadow of a Highlands mountain.
The male deer were snapped locking antlers on a moorland below Buachaille Etive Mòr in Glen Etive, in the Highlands last month.
Rutting is when stags fight each other with their antlers to decide who has the right to mate with female deer.
Wildlife enthusiast Connor McLaren, 26, travelled from his home in Perth, Perth and Kinross, to see if he could spot any deer.
He said the smaller of the two was ‘dominating the fight’ but did not know who won in the end after watching for around 40 minutes.
Connor, who works as a digital marketer for Porsche, said: “I was out taking photos and I knew there are sometimes deer in that area.
“I went down and had a look for them and got lucky. The stags fight for supremacy for a mate.
“Those two deer were fighting so they have the right to mate.
“I don’t know if it was because he had the high ground but the smaller one seemed to be dominating the fight.”
Connor continued: “There was no victor by the time I left – they were still going at it. I watched them for around 40 minutes.
“They’d fight for a bit, then they’d stop then start again. They were both quite young though, so I don’t know if either of them would win overall.
“You’d expect one of the more mature stags is probably going to win.”
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