Headless stag was not Stanley, it seems
A headless stag found in Bonawe is not, it seems, the community’s much-loved deer Stanley after all.
When the decapitated body of a stag was discovered last month, the community assumed it was Stanley who was well-known for munching his way through gardens and who happily posed for photographs.
A fundraiser was even launched to create a memorial for him and police launched an investigation into his death.
But now it has emerged that the headless stag was probably not him at all after another stag’s body with Stanley’s distinctive antlers was found in the undergrowth of a holiday property.
This stag had also been dead for some time but looked as though he had died from starvation, says Sian Griffiths, who made the gruesome find after investigating a strange smell.
‘We were looking after a holiday home when we noticed a horrid smell coming from the undergrowth. We went to look and found the stag who we believe was indeed Stanley – we could tell because of his distinctive antlers. His head was very much still on his body. After there was so much upset about him supposedly being shot and decapitated we wanted to put the story straight. There are hundreds of deer about and they all look very much the same, the only way to tell the difference is by their antlers really and we’re sure that the stag we found is Stanley. We also checked with photos that’ve been taken and matched it up.’
Mrs Griffiths added: ‘It looks as though he’d starved to death, he was just skin and bone but that’s what happens in the natural world if there isn’t enough food for them.’
But not everyone is convinced, Bonawe resident Dawn Osborne Harris still believes the headless stag was Stanley.
‘I saw Stanley just a few days before the decapitated stag was found and I’m sure it was him. Stanley was in good health, he was not emaciated like the other stag that has been found since.’
A Gofundme appeal set up to raise £1,000 to fund a memorial for Stanley is still online, so far £250 has been raised.