The bitterly cold winter has left many red and roe deer starving to death with the layers of snow preventing them feeding.

Estate managers are expecting sizeable losses as a result.

Simon Blackett, manager of the Invercauld Estate near Braemar, said: "The deer are very hungry at the moment and the weaker ones are starting to die.

"It is a part of nature and it is survival of the fittest. We are expecting more to die before the spring."

The annual cull of red deer hinds ended on Monday but several estates stopped shooting weeks ago when it became apparent that large numbers of the deer were dying.

The Deer Commission for Scotland have encouraged estate managers to continue culling red deer hinds following the recent Arctic blast and remove the weaker animals unlikely to survive.

Meanwhile, local butchers have been unable to meet the demand for venison as a result of the crisis hitting the deer population.

Mr Blackett said: "I was speaking to Braemar butcher Ronnie Gray and he was telling me this is the first time in 19 years that he hasn't been able to source venison. The majority of our deer are all skin and bone at the moment and the butchers obviously prefer the fatter deer with a bit more meat on them.

"At present we aren't shooting the fatter deer as they stand the best chance of surviving the weather. The only deer we are shooting are the thinner ones that look like they are about to die."

With many more deer expected to die before the spring, walkers have been warned they should expect to come across dead or dying animals.