Moment man tries to take ‘Instagram photos’ with deer in Richmond park weeks after woman was gored by stag

A man has been labelled "ignorant" for running into a herd of rutting deer in Richmond Park weeks after a woman was seriously gored by a stag.

Onlookers said the man looked as though he was "trying to get photos for Instagram" during his ill-advised behaviour in the park.

He was photographed posing among a large herd of up to 50 deer, despite warnings over the risks of getting close to the animals during their breeding season.

The man was seen trying to herd the deer by engineer Duncan Eames.

Mr Eames said he confronted the man among the deer on Saturday afternoon.

“I think it was for Instagram, he was taking a photo for social media," he said.

“He berated me for telling him off. I think his exact words were: ‘I’ve met a lot of douches but you’ve taken douchery to a whole new level. You’ve ruined my Saturday.

“I wouldn’t have had a problem if he’d seen the seriousness of it and apologised. It was his ignorance and arrogance.

“He could quite easily have been kicked. The deer can jump quite high. If he’d been in the wrong place he could have been stampeded.”

He added: “I’m all for people getting close to nature, but there is a reason you keep your distance here.

“It’s a wonderful sight and people should see it, but people like that give everyone else a bad name.”

To prevent accidents, visitors to the park are asked to stay at least 50m away from the deer for the duration of the rutting season.

Warning signs at key locations throughout the park advise visitors to keep their distance from the animals.

Adam Curtis, Park Manager for Richmond Park, said: “During the rut the male deer’s natural behaviour is to protect their females. We allow them to behave naturally during this time and therefore they may act unpredictably if they feel threatened.

We are asking members of the public to resist the temptation to disturb them during this important time in their lifecycle, and are asking people to stay at least 50m away from deer at all times.

This year we have not authorised any filming or photography of the deer in Richmond Park, alongside working with the police to tackle those who disturb nature."

Two weeks ago milliner Yuan Li, 43, was gored by a rutting stag in the park, suffering serious wounds to her thigh and her stomach as she was mauled in front of horrified tourists.