An orphaned baby deer has becomes best friends with its keeper’s baby.
The deer, named Ziggy, was rescued and taken in by Jeremy Goldsmith, who runs Mountfitchet Castle, a Norman castle and museum.
The fawn, believed to be two months old, was spotted on the side of a road in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex after its mother was hit by a car.
A passer-by called Mountfitchet Castle who thankfully took in the deer and gave it a warm shed to sleep in.
In just a few hours, Ziggy settled well in her new environment and has even become best friends with Jeremy’s daughter, 11-month-old Isabella.
An orphaned baby deer who was rescued in Essex has becomes best friends with its keeper’s baby, Isabella
The fawn, believed to be a two-month-old, was spotted on the side of a road in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex after its mother was hit by a car
Three times a day Jeremy goes to the barn to feed the fawn and takes young Isabella with him.
The two spend hours together and Isabella loves to stroke and kiss Ziggy.
Jeremy, 56, said: ‘We’re an animal-loving family. I was brought up in an animal-loving family and I did the same for my daughter.
‘It’s just so natural, they spend hours kissing and stroking each other. There’s no fear like you would expect there to be.’
The castle already has a herd of five fallow deer, just like Ziggy, and the deer will spend the rest of its life well-fed and with company.
Jeremy explained: ‘[Ziggy] is now doing well be cared for by the staff.
‘We can’t release her back to the wild now, as she would be too tame and not at all scared of people.’
It’s not the first time a youngster has befriended an animal.
In 2021, Stephanie Brown was shocked to find to her son Dominic, four, and a baby deer he had befriended in the nearby woods on the porch during a family holiday to Massanutten resort in Virginia.
The mother managed to take a snap of the unique moment, and shared it on Facebook, where it quickly went viral, ABC 8 News – WRIC reported.
A passer-by called Mountfitchet Castle who thankfully took in the deer and gave it a warm shed to sleep in
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Three times a day Jeremy goes to the barn to feed the fawn and takes young Isabella with him – and she enjoys kisses and cuddles with the animal
The two spend hours together and Isabella loves to stroke and kiss Ziggy, who is believed to be just months old
People were impressed by how at ease the fawn looked in the presence of the four-year-old.
Stephanie explained that the family had been packing to leave the Massanutten resort and head back home to Ragged Point Beach in Virginia when Dominic showed up with his new friend.
Shocked mother Stephanie took a few pictures of the partners in crime.
The snap shared on Facebook, which has since gathered more than 16,000 likes and almost 20,000 shares, shows Dominic in his Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer pyjamas, wearing winter boots next to the baby deer on the porch of the holiday rental.
The pair looked perfectly at ease with one another, and the fawn didn’t seem in a hurry to head back to the woods as he peered curiously at Stephanie.
She told ABC: ‘I was in shock. I was like, “No way. My mind is playing games with me”.
‘It wasn’t like anything strange for him, it was so weird.’
Jeremy said the family are very ‘animal-loving’ and Isabella is being brought up to care for all creatures
The castle already has a herd of five fallow deer, just like Ziggy, and the deer will spend the rest of its life well-fed and with company
The 11-month-old enjoys plenty of play time, kisses and cuddles with the playful baby deer
The animal now can’t be released back into the wild as she is ‘too tame’ and ‘not at all scared of humans’
The quick-thinking mother quickly took her phone out to capture the unique moment.
‘They were just in sync,’ Stephanie said, explaining that the deer cocked his head in the same direction as Dominic as she took pictures.
Dominic named his new friend Flash after the DC Comics super hero.
When the impromptu photoshoot was over, the mother explained she asked Dominic to walk his friend back to the woods so it could be found by his own mother.