EN
The aim of the study was to demonstrate how the trophy quality of antlers of the red deer stags living in two large forest complexes in the Mazowsze region (central Poland) differs from those inhabiting other regions of the country. The study used the data describing the body and antlers weight of 272 stags shot in 2005−2014 in two large, separated from each other, forest complexes of Spała and Gostynin. The stags from both forest complexes do not differ from each other in body weight and antler forms. The average body weight of the stags at the age of 12 is approximately 120−140 kg. The characteristics of antler forms of the stags harvested by hunters may not reflect the actual state because of the use, in practice, of the selection criteria instead of random killing. The most frequently harvested antler forms of the selection stags in the age classes of 3−5 years and 6−8 years are regular eight−pointers and irregular twelve−pointers, respectively. However, the small sample size used and the specific rules of harvesting the older stags do not allow to characterize the antler forms of the stags older than 9 years. In the autumn−winter period, a decrease in the body weight of the rutting stags at the age of over 6 years, as well as of the young, 2−5−year−old, stags is observed. The loss in body weight in young stags is approximately 20%, while in older stags – 35%. The decrease in body weight in the autumn−winter period is not stable. The largest, representing nearly 50% of the total weight loss, was recorded after the rut. In the period between November and December even a slight increase in body weight was noted followed again by a decline by the end of the winter.