Poachers kill Monarch of New Forest: Famed stag drowns fleeing from hunters who wanted £1,000 antlers



Hunters wanted 16-year-old stag's huge antlers, which were worth £1,000



Deer - known locally as The Monarch - only wounded by shot to the head

Stag escaped to a lake in Burley Park where he later drowned



Among Britain’s biggest and best known stags, The Monarch was a proud, dignified beast.

But his 16-year life has come to an ignominious end after being shot at by bungling poachers.

Illegal hunters put the handsome red deer in their sights on a private estate in the New Forest in a suspected attempt to snatch his spectacular 16-point antlers, worth around £1,000.

But they never got their hands on him.



Magnificent: The Monarch, was badly wounded by a shot to the head for a low-calibre gun. He fled to the safety of a lake, where he later drowned

Sad demise: The Monarch's lifeless body is retrieved from Burley Park lake in the New Forest, Hampshire

Loss: The Monarch (left) was owned by Dan Tanner (right). The stag was often spotted by visitors on the popular New Forest Deer Safari tours run by the farmer

Whoever pulled the trigger used a firearm with insufficient power to kill the animal instantly and the wounded beast is thought to have bolted off in agony before drowning in a nearby lake.

His body has now been fished out of the water and the hunters have become the hunted as police investigate the stag’s death. It is thought the calibre of the rifle used to target the stag was too low and the bullet simply ricocheted off its huge skull. Faced with danger, deer often head for sanctuary in water as they are strong swimmers.

The Monarch, who stood over 8ft from his hooves to the tip of his antlers and weighed around 25 stone, was so well known in the New Forest that gift shops sell souvenirs including mugs, clocks and jewellery with his picture on. His untimely death comes three years after another of Britain’s biggest known stags – the Emperor of Exmoor – vanished. The red deer is the UK’s largest land mammal and can live to around 18 years.

Missing their stag: The Monarch was the largest of 40 red deer (pictured) owned by Dan Tanner at Burley Park near Ringwood in Hampshire

Fame: The Monarch was so well known in the New Forest that gift shops sell souvenirs with pictures of him on it including mugs, clocks and jewellery

AT EIGHT FEET TALL, 25 STONE AND WITH 16-BRANCH ANTLERS, THE MONARCH WAS NO ORDINARY STAG

The red deer is the largest land animal in Britain - with stags typically standing at around four and a half feet from hoof to antler. At eight foot tall, The Monarch was roughly twice the size of a typical red deer stag. Red deer first migrated into Britain from Europe 11,000 years ago. They were used extensively by Mesolithic man as a source of food, skins and tools. Until the 20th Century they were largely confined to the Scottish Highlands and south west England, but an increase in forest cover means populations can now be found in Dumfriesshire, the Lake District and East Anglia.

Feral and privately-owned herds are present in the north of England, north Midlands, East Anglia, Sussex and the New Forest - where The Monarch lived. The red deer's antlers grow more complex with age, with stags continuing to grow extra branches up to a maximum of 16 - at which point they are at full maturity. At 16-years-old when he was killed, The Monarch was a 16-branch antler stag - another reason his massive head would have been so attractive to hunters.

Stags in Britain regularly live up to 18 years of age, although red deer tend to have a higher than average infant mortality rate - with fawns living in the Scottish Highlands particularly susceptible to the cold weather during their first winter. During the breeding season from September to November, stags engage in elaborate displays of dominance - including roaring and fighting. Serious injury and death can result but fighting only occurs between stags of similar size. Due to his massive bulk, The Monarch is unlikely to have ever been challenged by another stag.



The Monarch was the biggest – and the head – of a herd of 40 red deer owned by farmer Dan Tanner and kept at Burley Park near Ringwood, Hampshire where he was a popular sight on New Forest Deer Safari tours.

Yesterday Mr Tanner, 65, said poaching was still a real problem. He added: ‘Because The Monarch had such a fine set of antlers he would have been very attractive to poachers. They would have wanted his head as a trophy.’

Jamie Cordrey, from anti-poaching group The Deer Initiative, said illegal hunting was ‘unpredictable and very hard to police’. And Dorothy Ireland, of the British Deer Society, said poachers have no feeling for animals they have either injured or shot.

The Monarch’s body has now been given to a local farmer who intends to mount the antlers on a plaque.

A spokesman for Hampshire police confirmed that it was investigating a firearms offence. It is illegal to shoot privately-owned deer and those found guilty of doing so can face fines of £5,000.

Waste: Before being shot, The Monarch was a strong swimmer. It is thought he drowned after becoming disorientated as a result of his wounds

Slow death: The Monarch did not die from the initial shot as the poachers failed to use a powerful enough gun