Rutting deer drama caught on camera
Rutting season is well underway and Royal Park’s newly designed posters have appeared on park entrances and notice boards to warn of the dangers of approaching deer at this and other times of the year.
Even if you don’t have a dog, you could still be at risk if you are close to the deer, particularly if they are rutting. One such park user found out this the hard way yesterday when he was walking near a pair gearing up for a rut, with one of the deer choosing him as the target instead of the usual opponent.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_yybqlzjWQ&w=560&h=315]
Video: ITN News.
It is rare to catch such incidents on film but Lisa Acremom (interviewed) recorded the drama that had the victim of the attack pleading from help from passers-by shouting “I need some help here”. He eventually found sanctuary by climbing the tree protector to get out of reach of the antlers, police were then called to help but the deer had moved on by then.
Park users should stay well away from deer during rutting season and not assume they can get as close as other times of the year when they are much more docile.
Photo: Matt Clifton-Hadley.
Yes, it is important to be careful when the deer in the mating season.
To understand , we also need to take into consideration the deer culls.
Animals have feelings. They feel frightened during the culls and their lives and the lives of their family members are suddenly shortened. They have no where to escape. Men are trapping them and shooting them. It does not surprise me , if, when they see a man, they might want to go for him, in anger….
Lets take care of humans , dogs , and lets stop shooting the deer. Americans are now using Gonacom, which is a female deer contraceptive. People there have a heart, and care for the deer. Do we have a heart in London???
You soon won’t have a healthy herd if there are no young deer to replace ageing animals. Shame to have to cull but is there are real alternative?
” Men are trapping them”. How do you trap a deer?? Has it ever been done? How do you make sure its an old one (to be culled)? Your argument would carry more weight if it was factual. Adrian Heywood makes a good point. Do you let the old deer die of starvation as they lose teeth and so can’t eat? Do you let them go lame and limp around in pain?
I don’t think there is any trapping. They are shot (with silencers) at night. The deer are unaware of it, and don’t go round wondering what happened to old Rudolph.
This film is probably not showing the whole situation in context. How did he end up that close to the stag to begin with? It is obvious he got too close even in spite of the warnings about their normal behaviour in the rutting season and only has himself to blame. The deer feel fear and pain with the cull, see their loved ones shot, is it any wonder they fight back sometimes. I think sometimes ppl underestimate the intelligence and understanding of other species.
It’s really interesting to see that anti-cull comments that have made the jump from stags attacking people during rutting season to ‘deer are frightened from culling season and are attacking those that shot their family’.
The stags are aggressive during rutting season because they are competing for mating rights, they aren’t reacting to culling.
Deer also attack dogs during birthing season, do dogs shoot deer? No.
Do deer attack humans all-year round? No.
This aggressiveness is just a natural reaction to other animals being in their environment during particular seasons and humans and dog owners should be aware of this risk.
Lesley, this article isn’t “yet more anti-deer propaganda.” It’s written by an independent website for Teddington and not by Royal Parks. The intention here is make park users aware of the dangers of being near stags at this time of the year, not to demonise them.
If anyone wants to comment on the deer cull, then feel free to do this on an article that is actually about the deer cull itself rather than anything that mentions deer in general.
I have noticed that there have been more anti-deer articles around since the campaign against the cull started, and I do not think this is coincidence, I believe it is all about making ppl less sympathetic to the deer
Can you provide links to these anti-deer articles? When did the campaign start? Who are they written by?
It sounds as though you are counting articles that are warning of the dangers of approaching them as ‘anti-deer’ (as you have indeed flagged this one as)?
Royal Parks have stated that there has been a big increase in park users and dog-walkers in Bushy Park since the restoration and new facilities have been completed. More interaction with humans = more incidents with deer, so more articles need to be published to warn of these dangers.
Why did the lady in the video ONLY call 101 when the guy had climbed the tree? As for the person filming it almost perfectly – was there really nothing they could do to help sooner?
Isn’t it time bushey was seen as an amenity for human beings to enjoy without fear of attack, rather than the private hunting ground of a long dead monarch.
I walked in the park every day for about 3 years, and wasn’t attacked, and I sometimes got close to deer, accidentally. Give the deer their space and they won’t feel threatened. People were feeding them sandwiches and crisps at times.
But, Howard, your suggestion would result in all the deer being shot, as it’s unlikely they could be released into the wild. Not sure the cull protesters would be happy with that, either. Maybe close the park to people and leave the deer in peace? Introduce some wolves to ‘naturally’ keep the numbers down? Difficult.