Richmond Park has warned visitors not to approach its deer after a young girl was pictured in front of a stag during rutting season.
Photographer Tim Constable photographed the dangerous moment when a man held a toddler up close to the deer’s antlers while taking pictures in the London park.
He told the Telegraph that the parent was not only putting his safety at risk but his child’s too.
Mr Constable said: “When the antlers went down, I think they realised the stag meant business. They were slow to back away, though.
“It seemed a very strange thing to do putting your kid in the way of some massive antlers.”
The photographer added that he thought the “stag would attack”.
Richmond Park and Bushy Park are home to over 1,000 free-roaming red and fallow deer and visitors are urged to take extra caution while visiting the parks in deer rutting season, between September and early November.
The Royal Parks, who manage both sites, have warned that rutting stags weigh over 25 stone and reach speeds of up to 30 miles per hour, adding that the animals can be “highly unpredictable”.
Peter Lawrence, the assistant park manager at Richmond Park, warned visitors to stay at least 50 metres away from deer during rutting season.
He told the Telegraph: “We were deeply concerned to see an image, taken over the weekend, of two visitors, including a child, standing dangerously close to a rutting deer in Richmond Park.
“This is an extremely unsafe situation. We remind all visitors to Richmond Park and Bushy Park to exercise extreme caution during the rutting season, which runs from late September to early November.
“During this period, male deer may exhibit heightened aggression as they compete for mates, making their behaviour unpredictable and potentially dangerous.
“For safety, visitors should keep a distance of at least 50 metres from the deer, and up to 100 metres if they are moving.”
The Royal Parks website warns that being hit by a stag travelling at full speed “is the equivalent of being mown down by a motorbike”.
An advice page adds: “If you would think twice before entering into an enclosed space with a bull, then we urge you to apply this common sense to wild deer.”
In April, Richmond Park visitors were filmed attempting to pull the antlers off the park’s deer, according to police.
Royal Parks Police said it had received “concerning” reports over the weekend of people attempting to pull the deer’s antlers, saying some of the reports had been captured on video.
The deer have been roaming freely in Richmond Park since 1637.
In 2017, a woman was savagely gored by a rutting stag as she strolled through the park.
Yuan Li, 43, feared for her life when she was stabbed through the thigh and her stomach as she was mauled in front of horrified tourists.
And in 2019, a stag was filmed ramming its antlers into a car after it passed within centimetres of the animal.
