{"id":7144,"date":"2025-01-23T09:22:17","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T09:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebestofexmoor.co.uk\/blog\/?p=7144"},"modified":"2026-01-24T05:32:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T05:32:07","slug":"georges-story-exmoor-red-deer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebestofexmoor.co.uk\/blog\/georges-story-exmoor-red-deer\/","title":{"rendered":"George’s Story – Exmoor’s Red Deer"},"content":{"rendered":"

At The Best of Exmoor<\/em>, we treasure stories that highlight the remarkable connections people have with the wildlife around them. One of our owners, Kryss Forsyth, shares this heartfelt account of George, a majestic red deer stag, whose extraordinary presence turned Vikings Annexe into his sanctuary. Dive into this incredible tale of nature and kinship in the heart of Exmoor.<\/p>\n

George<\/h3>\n

We had moved to a new house, in a beautiful location on the side of a hill, overlooking the town, and seafront, the views were breathtaking, and at the back we were surrounded by woods. I enjoyed spending time looking through binoculars at the fields in the distance beyond the town, where I could see a herd of deer.<\/p>\n

In the area we live in, it was a normal pastime to drive up onto the hills and look for deer and feel very lucky if you spotted some. There were even tourist safari\u2019s that would charge to take people looking for deer, but many a trip was uneventful, and disappointing, especially if you were trying to impress visitors by showing them the deer, and non appeared in a spot that you knew they frequented.<\/p>\n

So, the herd of deer that I could see, fascinated me, and everyday I would look for them and track their movements. Sometimes they were out in the open fields, and other days they would be sheltering in the trees on the edge of the fields, so near the town and yet undisturbed.<\/p>\n

George and Scrumpy<\/h3>\n

One evening, not long after we had moved into the new property, my partner called me outside to show me three hinds, who were standing by the side of our garage. At least we thought they were hinds, but they may have been young stags before their antlers had started to grow. It was a shock to see them there, so close, but a wonderful and privileged sight.<\/p>\n

Not long after this, we had visits most days from two beautiful Stags, we named them George and Scrumpy. George because he reminded me of a King, and Scrumpy because he seemed more interested in the apple trees than anything else. Scrumpy would shake the apples down by hitting the branches with his antlers. We often wondered if they would get drunk on the many apples they consumed when they had fermented in their stomaches.<\/p>\n

Hours and hours were spent just watching them, they were so serene, majestical and almost mythical. They could jump over a hedge or fence from a standing position, no height seemed to deter them. They just leapt over in one graceful movement.<\/p>\n

George would lie on a patch of grass on a steep incline at the back of the house, then after a few weeks, he would sleep there all night.<\/p>\n

At first, I was a little scared of the stags being in such proximity, they were very dominant and seemed to demand respect, and I didn\u2019t think it would take much for them to give chase. But as time went on, I began to feel safe with them around, and looked forward each day to their visits.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ruts and Antlers<\/h3>\n

We were paid a visit by the local wildlife consultant, who asked if he could leave a day\/night camera in our garden. He had been tracking these two stags for many years and said it would be helpful to get some close footage of them. He had called them Ash and Cedar but was happy with the names we had given them. He warned us about the rutting season, which would start in October, when the stags would be sharpening their antlers and getting ready to defend their hinds in battles with other Stags. The testosterone would be kicking in, and even though these two stags were approachable most of the year, this would not be a time to try and get near them.<\/p>\n

All too soon October came. George and Scrumpy went to the top of the garden where they gauged out strips from the trees with the points of their antlers and rubbed off the velvet from them at the same time, getting themselves prepared for the battle with the other dominant Stags.
\nThe antlers were beautiful when the velvet was removed. There seemed to be an excited air about George and Scrumpy, while they prepared themselves for defending their hinds from rival stags wanting to mate with their females. The testosterone now obviously had kicked in.<\/p>\n

One day during October, a delivery van had parked at the bottom of our drive. The driver had spotted George making his way down the side of the property. The driver got out and started taking photos on his mobile, but George was agitated, his path was blocked, and he bolted towards the front lawn and decking, having spotted our dog, who was out having a wonder around. George took chase, leaping over borders and bowing his head, charging with his almighty antlers. If the patio door had not been open and the dog hadn\u2019t had the sense to quickly run inside, she would have been speared and killed in a second.<\/p>\n

George turned back and ran towards the drive. I stepped outside, having watched all of this happen from the window, I shouted to the delivery man to move his van and clear the way for the Stag to run out into the road, where he would then bolt up into the woods again, it was obvious he was getting very het up and frustrated by now. I don\u2019t know who was more frightened at that moment, the driver or George.<\/p>\n

Our dog never went outside again when the Stags were around. She would stand, nose in the air, and if she caught their scent, she was straight back in the house.<\/p>\n

Soon George and Scrumpy took their leave for the rutting season, and we missed seeing them for the next six weeks.<\/p>\n

Late November, George reappeared, but he had been injured during the rutting, obviously gored quite badly by a rival stags\u2019 antlers being thrust into his side. He seemed tired and battle weary, but we were glad that he chose to come back to us for his respite.<\/p>\n

Bird Seed Stealer<\/h3>\n

It wasn\u2019t long before George started to make trips around the front of our property, passing by the lounge windows and visiting a tree which we hung a lot of bird feeders on. He soon learnt a very useful trick. He would position himself so that he could hook the bird feeders off with his antlers. He mostly went for the peanuts, but occasionally would take the sunflower seeds down too.<\/p>\n

George would drop the feeder from his antlers and consume the nuts or seeds that had scattered.<\/p>\n

We told the wildlife consultant, and he moved the cameras to the front of the house, where he could capture George having his daily feed. He said he had never seen a Stag do this before, it just went to show how intelligent they are.<\/p>\n

George was getting braver, and so was I, in fact I could walk right up to him now and feed him carrots, which he gracefully took and greedily ate. George had lost his fear of humans (well, fear of us, as we posed no threat), but we were well ware that he was a wild animal and it would be disastrous if he approached all humans in this way, as there were people who would be prepared to harm him for a trophy or to sell him for venison.
\nWe would not have encouraged George to be so tame, but we had been told that an old lady who lived in the house before us had been feeding the wild deer for many years. She had refused to go into a residential home when she could no longer look after herself, as she did not want to abandon the deer, so she had carers to call on her every day, and they related tales of how she cared for the deer, feeding them, and enjoying them being in the garden. Obviously, George was one of her regulars, which is why he had stayed around our area.
\nAlthough at first, he was wary of us, he soon realised we could be trusted and we meant him no harm.<\/p>\n

George would sometimes walk up and down our drive during the day in full view of us. Other days he would just rest in the back garden. Sometimes he would sleep there all day and night. Although if we had visitors, he would be wary and stay out of sight until they had gone, unless they were frequent visitors, then he would make himself visible to them, as they counted as family, like us.<\/p>\n

It was comforting and reassuring to have George\u2019s presence there in the garden, and I would look out for him each morning when I got up. Seeing George in the garden first thing in the morning would set me up for the day. Christmas morning, he was there too, it was a great Christmas present.<\/p>\n

The grandchildren were excited to see him, and they thought of him as part of the family. They followed me up the garden to give George his extra Christmas rations. We didn\u2019t go as far as putting bells around his neck though! We felt so privileged to have such a wonderful animal in our garden. A monarch of the glen. We even made a christmas card out of a photograph of George in the garden.<\/p>\n

Our wildlife consultant had managed to film hundreds of hours of George and Scrumpy, including footage of me stepping out onto the decking in my dressing grown to give a carrot to George (I had forgotten about the camera). This video was edited for the local news channel and was given the caption of \u2018What does Rudolph do on his day off, he visits a house on the edge of Exmoor\u2019.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the film was in black and white, so my fluffy blue dressing gown wasn\u2019t seen, although a lot of people recognised me. The camera was set to point towards the tree and house, but not the view from where we live, as it would have been easy for deer followers, and the Press to find out where George was otherwise, and we wanted to protect George and Scrumpy as much as possible.<\/p>\n

The King’s Final Days<\/h3>\n

The lump on George\u2019s side was unfortunately getting bigger, and by February it had burst and was looking quite unpleasant. We were told by our friend the wildlife consultant that it was an ulcer, and that a sympathetic vet may be able to dart George with a tranquilliser and possibly remove the lump. But we knew that it would be very difficult procedure to carry out on a wild animal,
\nand would probably cause him more stress than he would be able to take.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the opportunity didn\u2019t arise to try and help George in this way, as his health deteriorated quite quickly, and one Sunday morning he came down from the garden and stood close to our back door. He seemed to be asking for help. We fed him, hoping to give him strength in case he could have some treatment. We called the wildlife consultant, but he couldn\u2019t get hold of a vet that was prepared to come and help at that point.<\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t see George the next day, but the day after that, on the Tuesday, he appeared again, and didn\u2019t seem to be quite himself. Again, he had come to the back door. I had just returned from shopping and saw his antlers through the glass in the back door as I went into the kitchen.<\/p>\n

I went out to him; he was bleeding quite badly. Awkwardly, he laid himself down on the patio, looking very soulful and sorry for himself. I took him some sheep feed nuts, which he ate. I called our wildlife friend, who came and supported us during the day, while we kept watch over George, he was still trying to track down a vet who would come to help, but it was to no avail.<\/p>\n

By the evening, we could see that George was suffering, and a decision had to be made. It was not an easy one, but there was only going to be one outcome in the end. So, a stalker was called to come and put George out of his misery. We had taken advice from a vet and the police were informed that there would be a firearm on the premises.<\/p>\n

I will never forget the sound of the bullet as it hit George, he died instantly, which was a blessing, but it was so very, very sad. I cried. It was as though a pet had been put to sleep. There would never be another Stag like George, he was special, a King. Our King.
\nGeorge had lived to a good age for an Exmoor stag, he is believed to have been 15 years old, but that knowledge didn\u2019t help much, we were going to miss him so much.
\nGeorge\u2019s antlers were removed that night, and he was covered over with a tarpaulin until we could arrange for his body to be taken away.<\/p>\n

Scrumpy’s Mourning<\/h3>\n

The next morning, I got up after a poor night\u2019s sleep, I couldn\u2019t stop thinking about George, and as I went past the landing window, where I would see him first thing in the morning, I was thinking it would be pointless to look out at the back garden as he would no longer be there. But, I couldn\u2019t help but look and couldn\u2019t believe my eyes when I saw that Scrumpy was lying there in George\u2019s place. He was lying where he could look down on George who was under the tarpaulin. What a day to choose for his return, we hadn\u2019t seen Scrumpy since October. George died last night, and here was Scrumpy. How did he know? What had made him return on this day, when we hadn\u2019t seen him for almost 5 months.<\/p>\n

I took Scrumpy some food, and he seemed to be letting me know that he was now the King and was taking George\u2019s place. His big brown beautiful eyes stared at me, knowingly.<\/p>\n

He stayed all day, watching over George, and only left when our friend the consultant and our son came with a truck to take George away in the afternoon. As soon as the truck disappeared down the drive, Scrumpy got up and walked quietly away and up into the woods.<\/p>\n

The consultant performed an autopsy on the lump and sent it to the DEFRA labs (department for environmental food and rural affairs), where it was confirmed that it was not TB or anything sinister, but simply a subcutaneous cyst that had been infected when it burst.<\/p>\n

Scrumpy didn\u2019t return, it was as though he had come to pay homage to George, and it couldn\u2019t have been more fitting. To whomever says that animals have no feeling, I can assure them I have seen it with my own eyes. They have feelings just like us.
\nScrumpy was a good five years younger than George, and we believe he may have been one of George\u2019s offspring. We live in hope of one day seeing him again.<\/p>\n

George will be remembered. His antlers have been mounted, and they take pride of place on a wall in our house. I\u2019m not sure if George would be happy when they are decorated with baubles and tinsel at Christmas though!<\/p>\n

I am so glad he came to us for his final resting place. RIP George.<\/p>\n

\"Stag<\/p>\n

This charming photograph of George was taken by wildlife expert mentioned in the story; Jochen Langbein.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

More about Deer<\/h3>\n

We have a facinating article from Exmoor Magazine called Crowning Glory<\/a> explaining antlers, to read the article please click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Experience Wildlife at Vikings Annexe<\/h3>\n

The author of the story Kryss owns this beautiful cottage Vikings Annexe<\/a>. Nestled on North Hill above Minehead, Vikings Annexe offers a luxurious and serene retreat, perfectly positioned for exploring Exmoor\u2019s natural beauty and wildlife. With its stunning outdoor spaces and proximity to the woods, it\u2019s an ideal setting for nature lovers to experience the wonder of Exmoor\u2019s wildlife, including the possibility of spotting deer in the garden.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hot tub with a view over Minehead and Exmoor!<\/p>\n

Learn more about Vikings Annexe and book your stay here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"start<\/p>\n

\n
\n What made George the red deer stag so special to the family at Vikings Annexe?<\/strong><\/p>\n

George was an extraordinary red deer stag who made Vikings Annexe his sanctuary for years. He became remarkably tame and trusting, allowing the owners to hand-feed him carrots and even developed clever behaviors like using his antlers to hook bird feeders down for food. He would sleep in their garden regularly and became part of the family, making his presence a daily comfort and joy.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n How did George demonstrate his intelligence around the property?<\/strong><\/p>\n

George showed remarkable intelligence by learning to hook bird feeders off a tree with his antlers to access the peanuts and seeds inside. The wildlife consultant who had been tracking George for years said he had never seen a stag do this before, highlighting just how clever these wild animals can be. George also learned which humans he could trust and would appear or hide depending on whether visitors were familiar to him.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n What happens to red deer stags during rutting season on Exmoor?<\/strong><\/p>\n

During rutting season in October, red deer stags like George and Scrumpy prepare for battles with rival males by sharpening their antlers on trees and rubbing off the velvet. Their testosterone levels increase dramatically, making them more aggressive and territorial as they defend their hinds from other stags. Even normally approachable stags become dangerous during this time and should not be approached.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n What was the most remarkable moment involving Scrumpy after George’s death?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The morning after George died, Scrumpy unexpectedly returned after being absent for almost five months since October. He lay in George’s usual spot, watching over George’s covered body all day, seemingly paying homage to his companion. He only left when the truck came to take George away, then quietly walked into the woods. This demonstrated the deep emotional connections that exist between wild animals.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n Can visitors to Vikings Annexe still see red deer like George?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, Vikings Annexe is nestled on North Hill above Minehead, surrounded by woods and perfectly positioned for wildlife watching. The property offers stunning outdoor spaces where guests have the possibility of spotting deer in the garden or nearby areas. The location provides an ideal setting for nature lovers to experience Exmoor’s remarkable wildlife, though encounters as close as George’s are rare and special.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n How old was George when he passed away and what caused his death?<\/strong><\/p>\n

George was believed to be around 15 years old when he died, which is a good age for an Exmoor stag. He had been injured during rutting season and developed a lump on his side that grew larger and eventually burst. An autopsy confirmed it was a subcutaneous cyst that became infected, not TB or anything more serious. The family made the difficult decision to have him humanely put down to end his suffering.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At The Best of Exmoor, we treasure stories that highlight the remarkable connections people have with the wildlife around them. One of our owners, Kryss Forsyth, shares this heartfelt account of George, a majestic … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7146,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,51,458],"tags":[555,570,459,568,567,571,572,574,573,569],"class_list":["post-7144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-cottages","category-exmoor-news","category-wildlife","tag-exmoor-holidays","tag-exmoor-nature","tag-exmoor-wildlife","tag-george-the-stag","tag-red-deer","tag-roe-deer-stories","tag-stags-in-exmoor","tag-vikings-annexe-minehead","tag-wildlife-in-minehead","tag-wildlife-tales"],"yoast_head":"\nGeorge's Story - Exmoor's Red Deer | The Best of Exmoor Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the heartwarming story of George, a majestic red deer stag, whose bond with a family turned Vikings Annexe into his sanctuary.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebestofexmoor.co.uk\/blog\/georges-story-exmoor-red-deer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"George's Story - 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