Adorable footage captures moment two roe deer explore industrial estate in Lancashire

A stunned couple filmed the moment two young roe deer investigated an industrial estate car park in Lancashire.
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Ava Makepeace, 48, from Blackpool, was treated to a special wildlife show when two deer wandered into an industrial estate's car park on Commercial Road in Darwen this morning (June 8).

The roe deer were first spotted by Ava's husband, Joe Makepeace, as they were working in their office on Arkwright Court - near the M65.

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Amazed by what they were seeing, Ava decided to take out her phone to capture the moment on camera.

The two deer may havebeen brother and sister, according to theBritish Deer Society. (Credit: Ava Makepeace)The two deer may havebeen brother and sister, according to theBritish Deer Society. (Credit: Ava Makepeace)
The two deer may havebeen brother and sister, according to theBritish Deer Society. (Credit: Ava Makepeace)

Ava, a Sales Director at Alpha Digital Networks PLC, said: "I just couldn't believe it. We're on an industrial estate which has woods by the side of it, but we've never seen them before because the car park is usually busy.

"We were in the office as my husband and myself run the company and we had just come in to do some deliveries for the day and my husband called me over to take a look.

"They stayed for about 10 minutes just tootling around and then they went back into the woods for about an hour before coming back out again."

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The normally timid creatures can be seen courageously exploring the car park while keeping a wary eye out on their human observers.

Although concerned for their welfare, Ava says the deer seemed to know what they were doing.

Ava said: "I was really concerned but my husband is a bit more pragmatic.

"He said they would sort themselves out and go back into the woods eventually, which they did do thankfully."

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Despite being fearful animals, deer of all species have been spotted in uncommon places across the country as a result of lockdown and the reduced amount of human activity.

In this instance, the two deer Ava spotted may have been brother and sister, according to the British Deer Society.

Charles Smith-Jones, Technical Adviser for the British Deer Society, said: "These are roe deer; the one at the front of the frame is a female (doe) and the one furthest away is a male (buck) - only bucks grow antlers.

"From their build it is very possible they are brother and sister who were born last year, as normally at this time of year the mature bucks are busy establishing their territories in preparation for the annual rut, which happens during late July and early August, while the does usually give birth to their kids during May and June.

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"Roe are widely distributed across the UK but tend to be secretive and do not usually move much during the day. Since the lockdown began, though, deer of all species have been appearing in places where you might not normally expect to see them – this is because of a reduction in human activity and associated disturbance."

Roe deer stand at around 0.6 to 0.75m tall at the shoulder.

When fully grown they weigh between 10 to 25kg. By comparison, an average adult man in Britain is 1.77m high and weighs 79kg.

Roe deer vary in coat colour throughout the year, being most distinguishable in the summer when their coats are bright rusty red. In winter, their coats turn a dull, slate grey colour.

"They were like little Bambi's", Ava added.

"It was so lovely. I've never seen anything like that before, especially on an industrial estate."

To find out more about roe deer, visit the British Deer Society (BDS) website by clicking HERE.

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