A wild deer attack on a woman posing for an instagram photo has prompted police to warn that the creatures aren’t “like bambi”.
The Metropolitan Police’s Royal Parks team shared a snap of the woman as she was apparently shoved from behind by one of the deer.
Urging the public to keep at least 50 meters (164ft) from the wild animals, they tweeted:
“This picture, taken on October 11 in Richmond Park, demonstrates why you need to stay 50m away.
“They are wild animals and can cause you injury #WeAreNotBambi.”
But all might not be what it seems with the image.
The Sun reports that officials at the force have been unable to confirm the veracity of the image, which was tweeted on an official account. The original tweet has since been deleted by the force.
Instagram is awash with social media users keen to get a photo with the deer, showing people standing dangerously close to the creatures and even hand-feeding them.
Locals have ridiculed the social media users online.
One woman called Jennie posted: “Anything for a good Insta feed right.
“I bet she had a lot of likes so the bruises were worth it.”
Another said: “It’s so upsetting how many imbeciles get too close to the deer at Richmond Park.
“It is so bad that I believe that Richmond Park should be closed during mating season.
“Humans will never learn and too many have no respect for nature and are just doing it for Instagram.”
Richmond Park is a national nature reserve and deer park, where 630 red and fallow deer have roamed freely since 1637.
Autumn is the deer 'rut' - or breeding season - and the animals can be very aggressive and territorial.
Their young are born between May and July.
Earlier this month a baby deer died after being brutally attacked by a dog in Richmond Park, MyLondon.News reports.
A 68-year-old man from Kingston was charged and will appear at Wimbledon Magistrates Court on December 29.
