Woman on 'scary' deer attack in Richmond Park

By The Editor

19th Oct 2020 | Local News

The woman jumped on by a deer in Richmond Park said the "terrifying" incident left her with a sore back and bruises.

Gemma Louisianna, 28, has emerged as the person pictured in a widely-discussed photo.

It shows a woman in a blue dress clutching her arms into her body as a deer jumps up on her.

The image was shared on social media by Royal Parks Police in a now-deleted tweet that read: "This picture, taken on October 11 in #RichmondPark, demonstrates why you need to #Stay50mAway. They are wild animals and can cause you injury #WeAreNotBambi."

Gemma is a singer from nearby Wimbledon who was "posing for a music promo photoshoot" at the time, the Sun reported.

MailOnline reported that the deer attacked because she tried to get close enough for a selfie, but Gemma flatly denied this.

"I absolutely did not approach the deer to pose for a picture with it, and I did not feed it," she told the Sun.

"It was scary. My back is sore and I have a few bruises.

"One deer started to come towards me and was eating some food out of one of my bags, which I thought was funny initially.

"I did then think to move my other bag, but by then the deer was coming closer to me and it didn't seem aggressive at first.

"When it was approaching me I didn't run away or approach it as I didn't want to startle or scare it.

"I was terrified when it started coming closer to me, it didn't seem as friendly anymore but I didn't want to make it worse.

"Suddenly it was behind me and had shoved me with its front legs, and I'd never experienced anything like it.

"By this point I was scared and moved quickly away from the deer, but a ranger came over to me and said that I shouldn't be near them because it's rutting season.

"The ranger didn't check if I was okay, and just walked away after telling me off and they just didn't seem to care about what happened to me.

"I walked through that park for hours every day when I was on furlough with my dogs, and now I'm a bit scared to go back after what happened and how I was treated."

Park manager's comment

Richmond Park park manager Simon Richards said: "On Sunday (October 11), a woman was jumped on by a hind (female deer) when she got far too close.

"We were informed by eyewitnesses that prior to the incident she was feeding the deer. We understand that the woman was not seriously injured and we sincerely hope she is ok.

"This incident serves as a powerful warning that deer are wild and unpredictable animals and a minimum 50 metre distance must be adhered to at all times. This is especially important as we are in the middle of rutting season, when male deer are flooded with testosterone and adrenaline.

"It's also important to stress that deer do not require feeding from the public.

"Both Richmond and Bushy Parks provide ample natural food for deer that is suited to their nutritional needs.

"By feeding deer you are doing them more harm than good, and putting yourself in unnecessary danger at the same time."

Not taking a selfie or feeding animals

Gemma said: "I absolutely did not take any selfies, and I stood 50 meters away from the deer, and it approached me.

"There are no pictures of me petting or feeding the deer on my Instagram, because I wouldn't do that.

"The first I heard of the photo was after my friends told me that it had been posted on a few websites.

"I was really angry and upset to see that they had claimed I was taking a selfie and basically being stupid, when the picture shows that's not the case at all."

Related coverage:

Richmond Park manager on extraordinary photo of deer jumping on woman

'We are not Bambi': deer jumps on woman in Richmond Park

Swan attacked by other swans is rescued by rangers in Richmond Park

Photos released of Richmond Royal Parks visitors petting and crowding deer

Remarkable images as bulldog takes on a stag

Watch: stag rams car in reminder of rutting season in Richmond Park

Rutting season begins in Richmond Park - visitors warned!

'Deer fed sandwiches and fizzy drinks' - warning by park managers

Video of deer eating rubbish in Bushy Park

     

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