What do you do if a deer goes for you? Four incidents in the Royal Parks of Richmond and Bushy over the past fortnight have seen two visitors hospitalised. This is the rut, when male deer set about bagging themselves a harem of hinds. Stags and younger bucks OD on testosterone, forget to eat, grow mean antlers and, half-starved, hormone-crazed and highly irritable, spend their days picking fights with one another.
So what's the best tactic if a stag sets his sights on you? Dorothy Ireland, trustee director of the British Deer Society, thinks that the problem in parks is that the deer are no longer frightened of the people, and the people are way too inquisitive about the deer.
"If you are attacked, climbing a tree is your best bet," she says. "Because if he's decided to go for you, he'll go for you. Run and he'll chase; curl up and he'll attack you on the ground. I'm afraid the only real answer is not to be there. Deer are wild animals, and stags can become very aggressive at this time of year." On the positive side, the rut only lasts a few weeks.
