A number of photos have recently emerged of groups of people gathering very close to the deer.

Royal Parks have urged people to keep their distance.

This problem has occurred in both Bushy and Richmond Park in recent weeks.

There is a recommendation of a 50m distance between people and the deer.

The rutting season (breeding season) is underway, in which male deer compete for breeding rights from now until November.

Red stags and fallow bucks, flooded with testosterone and adrenaline, roar and clash antlers in a bid to fight off rivals and attract as many hinds (female deer) as possible.

Park Manager Simon Richards said: "Stags can have harems of up to 40 hinds, and they spend most of their day and night chasing challengers away and preventing hinds from straying, leaving little time for sleeping or eating.

"This exhaustion and hunger, coupled with testosterone surging through their bodies, means they are in no mood for dogs spooking their hinds or humans getting in their face for a selfie.

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"Deer rutting is one of the greatest wildlife spectacles in the UK. If people say they love nature, then they must leave wild animals alone.

"By getting too close, and invading their space, visitors are not only risking serious injury, they are also disrupting the natural behaviour of the rut."

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