As the sun rose over Emsworth, England, in late October, a local resident headed out to check on their horses — and stumbled upon an alarming sight in a nearby field.
A fallow buck was in clear distress. His antlers had become tangled in loose fencing wire, and in his frantic attempts to break free, he’d somehow wedged a massive 6-foot wooden post into the mess. The deer was now dragging the heavy pole with him everywhere he went.
The resident immediately called the RSPCA for help.
“The buck was physically attached to the post by his antlers,” RSPCA animal rescue officer Marie told The Dodo. “He could still move, but only within a radius of about 50 feet.”
Though the deer wasn’t completely immobile, the weight of the post put constant pressure on his head and neck. Marie estimated he’d likely been struggling like that for around 12 hours.
The buck was clearly terrified and exhausted, and Marie knew this wouldn’t be a simple rescue. Deer are extremely sensitive to stress, and handling them incorrectly can be fatal.
According to the RSPCA, trapped deer often suffer from stress-induced muscle breakdown, meaning even surviving the initial entanglement can be life-threatening.
To give the buck the best chance, Marie called in a local equine veterinarian. With the deer’s herd watching from a distance, the vet carefully sedated him, allowing Marie to safely remove the wire and lift away the enormous wooden post.
“Thankfully, he responded really well,” Marie said in an RSPCA press release. “After a few hours resting in nearby shrubland, he came around.”
Before long, the buck was back on his feet — free, alert, and ready to return to his herd.
Rescues like this are surprisingly common during autumn in England. It’s rutting season, when male deer look for creative ways to decorate their antlers to attract mates and intimidate rivals.
“They actively seek out items to ‘dress up’ their antlers,” Marie explained. “It’s all about impressing the females and warning off other males.”
The Royal Parks has even documented deer sporting grass “headdresses” during this time of year. This buck’s fashion experiment just happened to go a little too far.
Fortunately, thanks to quick action and careful teamwork, he made a full recovery.
“It was such a relief to watch him rejoin his herd,” Marie said.
