A SCOTS car valeter got the shock of his life after being woken up by a stag hitting the side of his tent while out wild camping.
William McMath had already had a visit from the curious male deer earlier on in the day last Monday while setting up camp at Victoria Bridge near Bridge of Orchy, Argyll and Bute.
A video shows the huge animal sauntering around William, 24, and his friends’ camping spot looking eager to find some food.
The stag forces one of his friends to move out of the way as he gets dangerously close while on a mission to look around.
William, from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, said the gatecrashing stag wandered away soon after the video ended but later turned up at night again while he was sleeping.
It then spent the night headbutting his tent and making noises while managing to pull up the pieces of rope keeping William’s tent secured to the ground.
William and his friends decided to camp during a charity walk on the West Highland Way.
He posted about the encounter in a Facebook camping group on Friday, writing: “Few days ago on the West Highland Way.”
The post received over 1,900 likes and hundreds of comments from viewers who were surprised by how close the animal got.
One said: “Just a landowner came down to check how the campers are behaving.”
Another added: “Wow brilliant, probably thought you guys were on a stag do.”
A third commented: “I would have dove right back into my tent.”
Another replied: “Roundabout rutting season as well, that is one dangerous animal. Amazing.”
A fifth retorted: “Stunning animal but kind of sad to see them coming so close to campers for food now.”
Speaking today, William said: “It was a wild camp just at Victoria Bridge after trekking a few hours in heavy rain.
“The place looked absolutely empty so I was surprised to see a stag crossing the river to get a closer look.
“I knew it was rutting season so I was a bit more cautious as the stag can be very dangerous this time of year.
“He stayed for a while however as the sun started to set we jumped into our tents as we had a long trek ahead for charity.
“The stag stayed all night long hitting our tents and roaring during the night – he actually ripped out all of my guy-lines.
“The main thing not to do is feed them as they become a danger to road users and themselves unfortunately.”
Stags go through rutting season from September to November in the UK where they challenge other males to fight in order to find out who the alpha male is.
William has been covering 20 miles each day whilst fundraising for the Scottish Association of Mental Health (SAMH).
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