Beccie ClarksonFour-time-winning bolver Elvis Afanasenko.
Red deer are hard to approach — unless you can lure them by mimicking their mating call. That’s called bolving, and British hunters have been doing it for ages. They don’t do it anymore, but for the past decade, Brits have had an annual bolving competition to see whose weird-sounding groan can get an actual stag’s response. It sounds funny, but this year’s 45 competitors took it “very seriously,” according to the BBC.
Explains Heart of Exmoor, “The bolvers try to imitate the deer, and get points for style, authenticity and how successful they are at getting a real stag to answer their roar!” “Roar” is a euphemism — human attempts at bolving sound like some of the grosser bodily functions. Watch last year’s competition:
Want some tips for bolving? Park ranger and former winner Richard Eales will help you out:
“It’s a deep sort of roar from the belly, it’s got to come from the belly.
“You open your throat, put your hands up and it’s got to be a blood curdling roar from inside.”
Time to start practicing!
