Deer charges man in Richmond Park after he gets too close

The man was charged at by a deer
Twitter
Luke O'Reilly17 November 2020

Remarkable images show a man being charged at by a deer in Richmond Park after he got too close.

Photos of the incident posted on Twitter show the man standing close to the deer, along with a woman and a group of children.

It was claimed that the group were feeding the deer.

However, the deer appears to have become uncomfortable - charging the man.

A witness claimed that the group were feeding the deer
Twitter

A spokesperson for Richmond Park slammed the man's behaviour - adding that touching or feeding the deer is illegal.

Charlotte Wilden posted the photos on Twitter.

"@theroyalparks my friend took these pics on a long zoom lens today", she said.

"People feeding the deer from their hands, then throwing food at the deer when the deer decided they’d had enough.

"So horrible to endanger the children in this way."

A spokesperson for Richmond park said the deer ‘do not require feeding’
Alamy Stock Photo

Rachel Tylor, who took the pictures, said: "I was walking in the park on Sunday afternoon with my husband and 4 year old daughter. We're local, so go there a lot. We were heading up towards the woods where my daughter likes to explore, and saw a large herd of deer. 

"We walked the long way round to avoid getting too close, explaining to our daughter (as we always do) that the deer are lovely to see but they're wild animals so we must never get too close. 

"When we were in the woods, I looked back and was shocked to see a number of people, including children, getting really close to the animals! A couple of them were feeding the animals from their hands. I had my camera with me so zoomed in on them. It looked like they were feeding the deer bread. 

"When one of the deer wanted more and was starting to look a bit aggressive, one man threw the bread at him. Then, as the man was just standing there, the deer came at him, antlers down as if to charge. 

“The man jumped out of the way surprisingly quickly (that was one of the shots I captured). I felt so angry at the sheer stupidity of these people, particularly as they were also putting their children in harm's way. Some of the herd then started moving towards the woods, so we moved on. ”

Simon Richards, Park Manager for Richmond Park, told The Evening Standard that "deer do not require feeding from the public".

“It’s illegal to feed or touch a deer in Richmond and Bushy Parks", he said.

"The deer that roam these parks are wild animals that deserve respect and space. It’s important to emphasise that deer do not require feeding from the public and visitors should keep a minimum distance of 50 metres from the deer at all times.

“Richmond and Bushy Parks provide ample natural food for deer that is suited to their nutritional needs. By feeding deer, visitors are doing them more harm than good, and putting themselves in unnecessary danger at the same time.”

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