Incredible footage from the French Pyrenees where a group of ski schoolers had a close encounter with a Red Deer buck on the slopes of Val-Louron Ski Resort.
Red deer thrive across much of Pyrenean, especially in mid to high elevation valleys. Adult male red deer, like the one featured in the below video, stand roughly 4.5 feet tall at the shoulder and can reach around 550 pounds in favorable enviormental conditions.
These powerful cervids usually avoid people and can be dangerous at close range (especially during the autumn rut). Thankfully this buck was more concerned with high tailing it across the ski trail than in the approaching children in the ski school.
Red deer commonly shift activity toward crepuscular or nocturnal periods to avoid disturbance when cohabitating with humans but encounters can and still do happen. Its very important to respect their distance and give them plenty of room to avoid negative encounters. Glad to see this group of children have a peaceful encounter with this majestic creature, one they surely won’t soon forget!
