Wildlife rescuer Christopher Toms described an eventful bank holiday Monday as efforts unfolded to save a young male deer spotted running through Chapelhay and the town centre before eventually entering the harbour – ending up tangled in crab lines.
Despite multiple attempts by members of the public to help, the deer remained on the move for hours and could not be safely captured.
The situation took a turn when yachtsman Damian Lockie managed to scoop the exhausted animal from the water and bring it ashore.
Mr Toms said: “Damian was brilliant. The deer was on the move for hours.”
The deer ahead of its release (Image: Christopher James Toms)
With the amount of people that had tried to handle and rescue the deer throughout the day, Mr Toms explained that one of the most important things was to slow its heart rate down and just sit with it and calm it.
He checked the deer over and fortunately it had only suffered a few minor cuts and bruises.
Mr Toms said: ” It had a few cuts and bruises, but in nature they deal with that.”
It was truly a team effort, with Mr Toms explaining that two female employees from Warmwell Leisure ‘helped tremendously,’ using their uniforms to make a hood and helped to make hobbles (restraints) to keep the young deer safe, local wildlife rescuer Derek Davey.
The wildlife rescuer could not have predicted what would come next as he set off to release the deer.
Mr Toms transported the deer to a remote location near the Hardy Monument, miles from any road, where it was released back into the wild.
He said: “It ran straight into four other deer and just stayed with them. It was the most lovely ending to a traumatic day.”
Mr Toms and his family watched and waited for 15 minutes before heading back, satisfied that the deer was going to be okay.
Mr Toms, who has lived in Weymouth for around 30 years, runs a wildlife sanctuary in Greece and also volunteers in refugee camps there.