A stunningly beautiful picture, captured in a split second by Dave Napier. 

Dave came face to face with one of our shy and rarely spotted residents at the weekend whilst taking a leisurely stroll through the grounds of Arnos Vale and was lucky enough to have his camera at the ready.

 Now you see me....

The deer actually made a second appearance this week whilst delighted children from St Anne's Infants School watched in amazement before it disappeared back into the woodland.

There have been several recent sightings of roe deer on site, highlighting the significance of the Cemetery as a haven for wildlife. The woodland provides vital cover and shelter for this usually shy creature, whilst the grass and leaves of young trees offers a plentiful source of food. Two deer were spotted together on the site several times during the summer of 2010 and we are hoping that there will be many more sightings this year.

The Roe Deer is a relatively small deer, very quick and graceful, and is primarily active during the twilight, feeding mainly on grass, leaves, berries and young shoots. They live for a maximum of ten years (in the wild) and will bark and flash it's white rump patch if alarmed.  Living in very small groups of one male, 2-3 females and fawns. 

Now you Don't!

If you do see Roe Deer on site please let us know.  If you see fawns please do not approach them as the adults will abandon their young if they sense of smell that another animal or human has been near it. 

If you, like Dave, are lucky enough to capture one on camera then we would love to put the picture on the website so please send any pictures to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it