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9 February, 2010
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Published: 05 November, 2009
A MAN was injured after he went to rescue a stag which had its antlers caught in long grass in a garden at Oldshoremore, near Kinlochbervie. The stag was spotted by the man and his wife, who did not want to be named, struggling in the garden of an unoccupied house last Friday morning. The animal's antlers had become completely entangled in a 6ft tall clump of ornamental Pampas Grass. It is understood the man unsuccessfully tried to free the stag using garden equipment to cut the grass. But as he did so, he was struck and injured in the eye area by an antler point. The injury required four stitches and he was left with bruising to his face. Following the incident, Don O'Driscoll, the ranger for the John Muir Trust, was called to the scene. Mr O'Driscoll said: "Stags like to joust with their antlers at trees and twigs and this must have been what happened in this case. "It was a post-rutting stag and it hadn't been there for very long. It was probably only there since Thursday night. "I understand the animal was fairly calm at first but then must just have given a buck and caught this gentleman in the corner of his eye." Mr O' Driscoll, who is originally from Cork, but has lived and worked in the area for 20 years, said he had decided to shoot the stag after determining that it had so little body fat left that it was unlikely to survive the winter. He advised anyone who might find themselves faced with a large animal trapped in any way, to call in wildlife experts. He said: "I would say to people don't attempt to rescue it yourself - call in someone who knows what to do. "I commend this chap for his compassion in wanting to free the animal, but he took a chance and it could have killed him. "I would be very wary and would certainly not approach a wild stag without having a rope and another person present." 
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