A man feared was left terrified after being attacked by a stag – which plunged its antlers into his thigh.
Glen Wilkinson, 56, let his dogs out to a play in his seven-acre garden in rural Kishorn, as usual around 9:30am on November 14.
But as soon as they ran out they immediately gathered in one corner – where Glen spotted a highland stag tangled in his fencing. Glen walked over to try to help free the stag to prevent it being injured – but the buck charged at him and plunged his antler into Glen’s thigh.
Glen was knocked to the ground by the six-foot animal, and had to grab both its antlers and hold them steady to prevent another blow. The dad-of-two feared for his life – until his friend, Martin Whitehead, 56, ran over to cut the wire fencing and free the animal, which then ran away.
Glen – who was left in a pool of blood – was then rushed to the nearest hospital, Broadford, on the Isle of Skye.
He needed 10 stitches to close the seven-centimetre gash on his leg and stem the bleeding, as well as a tetanus injection.
Glen, a builder, said: “The stags come into my garden all the time and they’re normally good as gold – I’ve never had issues before. But this one had got its antlers caught on the fencing – he was thrashing about and I thought he’d end up injuring himself.
“He went still and I thought he’d tired himself out – but then he charged me and took me off my feet. I was scared for my life – whenever I let go of his antlers to try and untangle him he’d try to go for me again.
“It felt like it went on for an eternity. It was only after the stag had gone that I tried to stand up and realised I was covered in blood.
“I dropped my trousers and there was a hole in my leg.”
Glen let his dogs outside for a run around his large garden on November 14 – not seeing the stag trapped in the corner of the fence. When he noticed it, the animal was panicked and he thought he should help to prevent it being injured.
He said: “He was uprooting the fencing and trailing it down the garden – even pulling out the posts. So I went over to see if there was anything obvious I could do to help. He lowered his head at one point and I thought he was tired, so I got closer for a better look – that was when he took his chance to go for me.”
In a second, the stag charged at Glen’s chest – knocking him to the floor while also gauging a hole in his thigh with a lower part of the antler. On the floor, Glen had to grab the stag’s antlers to prevent any further strikes.
After a couple of minutes of wrestling, Glen’s friend, Martin, rushed in with wire cutters. The second the stag had been freed from the fencing, it ran off. That was when they realised the extent of Glen’s injuries.
He said: “By then, the adrenaline was beginning to wear off and my leg was aching a lot. Before then, I was too intent on holding its antlers to feel the pain.”
Glen’s daughter, Alex Wilkinson, 26, drove over to take him to hospital, where he had 10 stitches to close the wound. Now back on his feet, Glen said he’s bruised but healing.
He added: “I’ve since found out you’re not supposed to help a stag when it’s tangled for this reason. I don’t blame the stag – he was probably as scared as I was. He didn’t know I was trying to help him. Now I know, I won’t be doing it again.”
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – Sign up to our daily newsletter here.