Terrifying moment dad holds toddler INCHES away from stag with huge antlers at park
THIS is the terrifying moment a dad held his toddler inches away from a stag with huge antlers in a park.
The man and his child were snapped "dangerously close" to the male deer in Richmond Park, south west London.
But they made a hasty retreat when the stag lowered his antlers to attack.
Snapper Tim Constable said the man was risking the toddler's safety - as well as his own.
Tim told the : "When the antlers went down, I think they realised the stag meant business.
"They were slow to back away, though. We thought that the stag would attack.
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"It seemed a very strange thing to do putting your kid in the way of some massive antlers."
Park manager Peter Lawrence said: "This is an extremely unsafe situation.
"We remind all visitors to Richmond Park and Bushy Park to exercise extreme caution during the rutting season.
He added: "The rutting season runs from late September to early November.
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"For safety, visitors should keep a distance of at least 50 metres from the deer, and up to 100 metres if they are moving."
More than 630 red and fallow deer live in Richmond Park, which is a National Nature Reserve and one of London's eight Royal Parks.
Stags can become more aggressive during rutting season as they compete for mates.
In recent years they have also had to put up with visitors pestering them for a selfie.
A deer was snapped shunting a woman from behind in the park in 2020.
Later that year a man was chased by an irritated stag after trying to feed it.