Oh deer! Stag gets leaves entangled in its antlers
A photographer captured a red deer stag at Studley Royal Estate in North Yorkshire wearing what looked like a makeshift "headdress" of leaves and branches tangled in its antlers. Dave Manson, who took the pictures on Sunday, said he had been watching the stag beneath a tree before it emerged covered in foliage and walked unbothered through the herd, giving him the chance to photograph it from multiple angles. The image highlights the natural camouflage abilities of red deer, likely the result of the animal plucking leaves from low branches.
The estate, managed by the National Trust, is home to around 300 deer, comprising roughly 120 red deer, 120 fallow deer and 60 sika deer, plus a separate herd of 40 red deer at nearby Mackershaw. The deer roam the parkland surrounding the ruins of Fountains Abbey, a Cistercian house founded in 1132 that became a World Heritage Site in 1986. Red deer, Britain's largest native land mammal, grow and shed antlers annually, with new growth covered in "velvet", and are known for their reddish summer coats that darken in winter.
- Photographer snapped a stag with leaves tangled in its antlers in North Yorkshire.
- Studley Royal Estate is home to around 300 deer of three species.
- The National Trust-managed park surrounds the historic Fountains Abbey ruins.
New here? Start with this
Studley Royal Estate is National Trust parkland in North Yorkshire, surrounding the ruins of Fountains Abbey, a Cistercian monastery founded in 1132. The estate is home to several kinds of deer, including a herd of about 120 red deer.
Red deer are Britain’s largest native land mammals. Stags grow a new set of antlers each year, covered at first in a soft layer called velvet, and later shed them. Leaves and branches can become caught in their antlers as they move through woodland and parkland.