Deer, mainly stags, and what's the likelihood.....

S

SpruceRI

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 July 2006
Messages
5,368
Visit site
..... of me getting attacked by one?

I've got a large herd of deer living in the woodland beyond the field I rent.

Last year I hardly saw them (I think someone went culling unless they suffered with disease) but this year they're rife again.

Up until recently apart from the odd one going through my fencing and taking half of it with them, they've stayed out of my way and me, them.

But now it's the rutting season, there's suddenly stags everywhere and lots of 'yonking' going on in the woods at dusk.

I have to walk through a fenceless field of about 1-2 acres to get to my ponies and this evening there were 2 stags and about 4 non-antlered deer arond my field gate.

It was pitch dark so I was walking across with my torch in hand and picked out loads of pairs of eyes. The females and youngstock ran away as soon as I starting speaking/shouting (which is what normally gets them to go away as if I'm with a horse in hand they don't seem to notice me!)

I lowered the torch up so as not to blind the remaining 2 stags who refused to go, whilst flicking up every few seconds to see if they were still there. And they were.

I got half way across said field and they were still standing there at my gate watching me. I didn't want to approach any further so shouted and jumped up and down (like an idiot
smirk.gif
) and eventually they moved along the hedgeline a bit.

On my way back out of the field I was shocked to find them right close to me as I came out of the gate. I nearly died of shock to be honest!

I love seeing the wildlife, but not that close up with these big upstanding creatures....
shocked.gif


Terrifying actually as once again they're between me and my destination - the car!!!!

So, what's the chances of them attacking me?

Should I just keep walking and they'll eventually scarper or would they attack me?

How to I get them to simply bugger off??

Thanks

Sorry about the long-windedness
grin.gif
 
I'm afraid to say that stag attacks on humans are quite common, especially during rutting. Would they not run away if you kept the torch on them??

ETA loud noises scare them so try taking a whistle or air horn.
 
put it this way, when I was doing my deer experience, every other field we got out and wandered among the deer to feed them, with the stags, we stayed in the jeep and poured the feed out from the back. I would not be risking it particularly at the moment, and I don't know if you have a small pony if they would go for them at the moment
 
Oh no
shocked.gif


I think that you will have to make alot of noise to hopefully 'scare' them off back into the woods, whilst you tend to your 3 ... please be so careful
frown.gif


Take care
crazy.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
http://www.thedeerinitiative.co.uk/index.htm
may be some useful advice.
Farmed deer are more used to humans, wild deer are normally much more shy. What species of deer are they?

[/ QUOTE ]


Most of the people injured(or even killed) by stags are deer farmers who think that they 'know' the stag. These animals change completely at this time of the year, they stop eating, their testosterone level rises and they are basically trying to KILL each other. Whether the deer is farmed or wild, steer well clear!
 
I have absolutly no idea what to do with deers, I would also suggest maybe trying to bring something really noisy?
But your story made me think of my mothers cousin. He was jogging in a nature area in Ghotenburg some years ago, when he heard heavy breathing behind him, he kept jogging for a while but when it didn't stop, he turned his head ............... and found an elk trotting with it's head almost over his shoulder!!!!!!!!! Luckily(?) some other joggers turned up, and the elk probably thought it was getting to crowded, so it went of the jogging track and back into the woods...

from Sweden.
laugh.gif
 
I think the likelyhood would actually be quite low of wild deer, I can't comment on farmed. We were vigilant and walked at dawn and dusk through woods of rutting deer with our Irish Wolfhound. He was kept on a lead for his safety during the rut but making plenty of noise and staying to the track and not wandering off into the dense undergrowth will probably keep you relatively safe. Can't comment again on the likelyhood of them disliking a horse. They will not tend to rut on the paths but will choose big wide spaces or deep woodland.
 
There are some very large deer near to where I ride which I was discussing with someone. They said that the female chooses the stag rather than the other way around, which means that they are a lot less inclined to run away as it shows weakness Can you drive your car over the field for a while or at least shine your headlights over it?
 
Dont want to scare you but when i was 16 (22 now) my horse bolted with me and my left leg got caught between him and a tree and my femur snapped in to bits!!!! OUCH. I have a bone pin in there now and was in hospital for 2 weeks, on crutches for 3 months and couldn't walk properly for 6 months. MY vet came to look at the horse and said he was very very spooked. He thought it could of been a stag in rut that made him bolt or the smell of wolves in the woods as they walk them in my local woods too.

PLEASE be careful as stags are full of testosterone during autumn/winter and it can affect horses. I saw two Sika stags yest and my new boy had a good old look at them and then felt very weird for a few steps! If you can avoid that ride until late jan then i would as i dont want what happened to me to happen to n e one else!!
 
I think yes the bets advice is to stay well clear. BUT I wouldn't imagine a stag would intentionally try and attack you or your horses unless you enmcroached on their rutting area (is it called a leck /lech?). But like any wild animal you need to be aware of where they are and avoid confrontation. They will be protecting 'their' hinds and their space and wouldn't therefore necessarily differentiate between a human or another stag as being a threat to them.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'm afraid to say that stag attacks on humans are quite common, especially during rutting. Would they not run away if you kept the torch on them??

ETA loud noises scare them so try taking a whistle or air horn.

[/ QUOTE ]


Oh sh*te!!!!

They don't run away when I shine the torch on them. The females and youngstock scarper but the stags don't.

I can't drive the car across the field at this time of the year as it's too wet and I get stuck.

I think they're Roe deer although they could be Fallow or a mix. They're definately not Red deer as not big enough, nor Muntjac or the other ones which are too small.

Some are brown with white spots at this time of the year but the males are brown with huge antlers.

It seems that if the deer are in the woods and something moves in there the whole lot scarper as they often come belting over my fence into the bottom field, but me just crossing that fallow fenceless field to my paddocks is the dicey bit.

God, I never thought they'd attack my horses......

When does the rutting end, does anyone know?

Are stags less dangerous once that's all over?

Stupid question... do stags not have antlers all year round as I haven't noticed any males until recently. Will the antlers have grown for the winter and then fall off, or have these males been hiding somewhere else all summer?

Thanks

I'm really scared now!!!!!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top