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Fairy Stag?

LollyW

Fresh Blood
Joined
Dec 1, 2019
Messages
9
Location
Edge of London
I suppose an 'It happened to me!' is a good place to start with a first post. I have been meaning to write this down for a while and was searching for possible other instances when I remembered the old FT forum so this experience has led me here.

8 years ago I was driving back from a meeting in Folkstone on a Saturday morning, it was September but I don't remember the exact date. The weather was clear and dry, it was not far off of mid-day. I was driving around 15 mph along a slip road alongside the main road out of Folkstone away from the town, coming off of a roundabout when I noticed a few metres in the distance a small deer running along the grassy verge at the left-handside of the road, I watched it as I passed and realised it was a tiny (around 12 inches/30cm) tall, perfectly proportioned red-deer stag running only a couple of miles an hour slower than me ( judging by the time it took to catch-up and pass it). I am very familiar with Red and Muntjac deer, it wasn't a small deer of another species, I have looked and looked at different species, it was a fully antlered up, red deer just tiny like a toy. It was on my side of a hedge and metal barrier with a short drop and houses behind so I couldn't have just been seeing a big deer in the distance (it was small, not far away, Ted). I had cause to drive that way a number of times after that and always looked out for it but never saw anything again. I have such a vivid memory of it, I am not known for my memory but this has stuck with me. I often wonder what I saw but I do hope it was a fairy.
 
" a tiny (around 12 inches/30cm) tall, perfectly proportioned red-deer stag"

Bit like this monstrosity my wife bought to adorn our mantelpiece?

PSX_20191202_073009.jpg
 
I suppose an 'It happened to me!' is a good place to start with a first post. I have been meaning to write this down for a while and was searching for possible other instances when I remembered the old FT forum so this experience has led me here.

You might want to log your experience with the Fairy Investigation Society at http://www.fairyist.com/survey/


They've already published one, yours might make it to the next. Link to PDF of 1st Fairy Census -

http://www.fairyist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/The-Fairy-Census-2014-2017-1.pdf

which is very long but has some fascinating accounts.
 
It was a fully antlered up, red deer just tiny like a toy
Tiny and with large antlers...

The indigenous muntjac - often described as, 'tiny', is sometimes seen with full grown antlers.

Maybe still a possibility?

"This tiny non-native deer is the smallest in Britain...".

https://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife-in-norfolk/species-explorer/mammals/muntjac

This size of antlers seems rare though...?

Screenshot_20191202_193331_compress88.jpg


https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/animals/mammals/muntjac-deer/
 
Those are not Muntjac deer.

They are Fallow deer. A white, black and spotted variant.

Much bigger than Muntjac.

Muntjac have very small antlers.

My only guess is it was an exceptionaly endowed Roebuck. Roes are well known for strange variations in Antlerage.

Kondoru who is no deer expert
 
Tiny and with large antlers...

The indigenous muntjac - often described as, 'tiny', is sometimes seen with full grown antlers.

Maybe still a possibility?

"This tiny non-native deer is the smallest in Britain...".

https://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife-in-norfolk/species-explorer/mammals/muntjac

This size of antlers seems rare though...?

View attachment 21501

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/animals/mammals/muntjac-deer/

It's proportions were more like a red deer or chunky fallow deer than a muntjac, far less cute than a muntjac to be fair.
 
Those are not Muntjac deer.

They are Fallow deer. A white, black and spotted variant.

Much bigger than Muntjac.

Muntjac have very small antlers.

My only guess is it was an exceptionaly endowed Roebuck. Roes are well known for strange variations in Antlerage.

Kondoru who is no deer expert


Agreed. I see Muntjac semi-regularly around my way. At most the antlers are still very short:

muntjac.jpg
 
In late-2003 I picked up some freelance work in rural Norfolk, my first ever visit to East Anglia. I was staying in a country hotel and had the weekend to myself after a long, stressful week. I trudged through some light snow cover, following an old railway track to the Village pub for a well-deserved lunch and liquid refreshment.

Three hours later I was well-fed, cheerful and a bit wobbly on my feet (!) as I headed back only the track to the hotel. It was then, in the gathering gloom, that I saw the fairy deer darting around the undergrowth. I was stunned, and tried desperately to snap a picture on my phone of the elusive elfin deer to prove my paranormal experience. I arrived back at the hotel bar, in need of a stiff drink, and babbling about what I had seen, The barman laughed and explained they were Muntjac :) How was I to know....?!
 
I suppose an 'It happened to me!' is a good place to start with a first post. I have been meaning to write this down for a while and was searching for possible other instances when I remembered the old FT forum so this experience has led me here.

8 years ago I was driving back from a meeting in Folkstone on a Saturday morning, it was September but I don't remember the exact date. The weather was clear and dry, it was not far off of mid-day. I was driving around 15 mph along a slip road alongside the main road out of Folkstone away from the town, coming off of a roundabout when I noticed a few metres in the distance a small deer running along the grassy verge at the left-handside of the road, I watched it as I passed and realised it was a tiny (around 12 inches/30cm) tall, perfectly proportioned red-deer stag running only a couple of miles an hour slower than me ( judging by the time it took to catch-up and pass it). I am very familiar with Red and Muntjac deer, it wasn't a small deer of another species, I have looked and looked at different species, it was a fully antlered up, red deer just tiny like a toy. It was on my side of a hedge and metal barrier with a short drop and houses behind so I couldn't have just been seeing a big deer in the distance (it was small, not far away, Ted). I had cause to drive that way a number of times after that and always looked out for it but never saw anything again. I have such a vivid memory of it, I am not known for my memory but this has stuck with me. I often wonder what I saw but I do hope it was a fairy.
I love this. And it's seasonal.
 
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