A Canadian teenager helped to cure a deer’s itch when the incredibly friendly animal strolled up to him and then nuzzled on his neck.
Miles Higgins was relaxing with his family and attempting to work on his sun tan when the creature came over to him and then started to rub his head on the boy’s neck.
The teenager was sunbathing by Kalamalka Lake, Vernon, when the incident occurred, and his mother, Maegan, videoed the entire incident on her camera phone, alongside the rest of her family, before then uploading it to YouTube. You can watch the entire ordeal unfold above.
Rather than being scared, Miles simply laughed and attempted to push away the deer and its antlers, which instead continued to nuzzle up to him.
Maegan went on to add that the deer was so engrossed by her son that it then followed the Higgins family away from the lake too. Ms Higgins can be heard saying on the clip, “Careful, it’s not hurting you is it?” even though the deer’s antlers can be seen caressing her son’s shoulders.
The video has since been viewed over 330,000 times since it was uploaded on August 1, however experts have now revealed that the deer was either attempting to shed the velvet from its antlers, or was simply trying to mark Miles as its own territory.
Marina Langland , a veterinary nurse for the Wildlife Rescue Association of British Columbia, confirmed that the deer wasn’t being aggressive towards Miles.
She stated, “He’s a little young, but the first avenue is that he’s rubbing to get the fur off his antlers. The velvet has to come off to get the bone to harden. I don’t know if he was particularly fond of the boy.”
Langland then added that the deer probably grew up in an urban area and was used to interacting with people.