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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Cambridge University academic 'fighting for life' after being gored by giant stag |
| 2014-01-02 |
| And they say the spirit of journalism is dead! [Telegraph] Kate Stone, 44, suffers life-threatening injuries in 'the most unlucky freak accident ever', after the stag appeared to single out the 6ft academic who was the tallest of the group A Cambridge University academic has suffered life-threatening injuries after being gored by a giant stag during a holiday in the Scottish Highlands. Kate Stone was standing with a group of friends outside the home of a local musician at Lochailort, near Fort William, when the large animal appeared suddenly out of the darkness. The Press and Journal reported that it appeared to single out 6ft-tall Ms Stone, the tallest of the group, and its antlers pierced her throat and went through to her spinal column. It was feared that the 44-year-old, who was born a man but changed gender in 2007, could be left paralysed by the attack. A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said she was in a "serious and stable condition" this afternoon but refused to comment further on the nature of her injuries. After shaking its head to free itself, the stag vanished into the surrounding trees and moorland, leaving Ms Stone lying on the ground bleeding. Her companions initially thought she had only been knocked down during the attack, which happened in the early hours of Monday morning, but quickly realised her injuries were more serious. An ambulance was called from Mallaig, 15 miles away, and she was taken to the Belford Hospital in Fort William. Doctors there discovered her life-threatening injuries and she was flown by air ambulance for specialist treatment yesterday at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow. Ms Stone and her friends had earlier been at a ceilidh in the nearby Lochailort Inn, where they met Jim Hunter, 50, a local musician who invited them back to his home. He said: "There was a crowd of seven of us coming from the pub by torchlight. We were coming in to our garden and the stag had got in. The only way out was through the gate we were coming in and he panicked. "He came right at us and right through us. We were all having a great time -- it was just the most unlucky freak accident ever. There was blood coming from her neck and we took her inside. "The paramedics came in about 20 minutes which is good as we are a bit isolated here, and gave her oxygen. They were fantastic. I don't think the animal deliberately attacked her. It was just panicking." But a neighbour of Mr Hunter said: "I am very wary of the stags around here. I do not walk to my house -- particularly at night. "They do not always run away. They stand there facing up to you, pawing the ground in a threatening manner. The rutting season is over so now they have harems of hinds to jealously guard against other stags. "Perhaps this woman was targeted because she was the tallest of the group and perceived by the stag as their leader and the most threatening to it." Ms Stone has a PhD in physics and microelectronics and works as a research engineer at the University of Cambridge's institute of manufacturing. She also set up a technology company, Novalia, which specialises in "making anything that's printed interactive". She was part of a multinational group of three men and four women on a three-day festive break at a local bed-and-breakfast owned by Gary Burton, 51, and his wife Kasia, 35. They had spent three days hill walking and enjoying the scenery. Mr Burton, who runs the Mo-Dhachaidh Guest House, told the Press and Journal: "I understand Kate is critical in the hospital's intensive care unit. "She was telling me she enjoyed the outdoors in the hills and camping on her own in remote places so any form of paralysis to such an active person will be a disaster. The incident is absolutely shocking and so unexpected. "There are plenty of deer around here but you never hear of a stag attacking anyone. The force of the attack must have been ferocious. I went to the scene and found Kate's mobile phone smashed into tiny bits." He said he and his wife found out about the attack when four of Ms Stone's friends returned to the guesthouse in the early hours of yesterday morning in a "very shocked" state. Peter Fraser, a retired gamekeeper from Aberdeenshire who has worked with deer for more than 40 years, said he had never heard of a similar attack before. He added: "For a stag to come out of the darkness like this and go for someone is highly unusual -- a chance in a million." |
| Posted by:Zenobia Floger6220 |
| #15 #6 Horns of a dilemma, eh? Cackle. I'm sure it's been done (twenty years ago?) but it just now occurred to me how easy it would be to put together an unobtrusive battery-powered rig to provide my own soundtrack. In case I'm not weird enough already. Anyway: [rimshot] [pigsqueal] #7 3.5 men, and 3.5 women, I would say. As I was going to St. Barts I met some people with some parts Some were lairds and some were damsels I don't think there were any camsels Think twice what you do in the night Lest some wee beastie take affright I'm here all week -- please try the haggis! It's ten -- do you know where your stag is? Besoeker: Love the St. Hubert legend, but so help me, I hadn't even thought of it. Thanks. Blueberries. Walnuts. Must remember. Redneck Jim: Sorry for riling you up. I know how you feel. I got herds of hobby-horses. If Dagwood's diner cook wants to be called "Queenie," I'm fine with that. "Miss Queenie?" Sure, why not. But I get nervous when they want me to sign off on what's in their pants and genes. And when they drag lawyers and judges and police and HR into it, I'm right there with you. Rantburgers generally: Thanks for all the yucks and links and wisdom. I'll toddle back over to the kids' table now. |
| Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 2014-01-02 21:04 |
| #14 I wonder if Stone annoyed the Juice or maybe the Russkis. They're pretty crafty, you know! Was there polonium on the horn, I wonder? Or Disney. It could have been an audio-animatronic stag, after all! |
| Posted by: Bobby 2014-01-02 19:26 |
| #13 Its a strange story; Stone spends his professional life studying and innovating technology, uses technology to change to a her, goes out for some good times with fellow technology innovators to celebrate what will be a successful new year, open the door... and bam. Gored by nature, at the front door. And the only thing which may save Stone's life - modern technology. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2014-01-02 18:08 |
| #12 It could have been worse, it could have been A. Moose. That said.... damn... bad respawn. Hope this ends okay. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2014-01-02 17:09 |
| #11 It's a humorous study in a sad (and sick) way, but I don't wish ill on Mr./Ms. Stone, whatever gender she/he is. I'd like to think we'd all agree on that. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2014-01-02 16:44 |
| #10 Are you being deliberately annoying again Jim? Retribution for what? |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2014-01-02 14:03 |
| #9 It was feared that the 44-year-old, who was born a man but changed gender in 2007, God knows what he put on earth, the stag was retribution. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2014-01-02 13:53 |
| #8 So it wasn't a stag party after all. No wonder the deer was pissed! |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2014-01-02 12:24 |
| #7 3.5 men, and 3.5 women, I would say. |
| Posted by: 2sealys 2014-01-02 11:55 |
| #6 ZF6220, I meant no criticism of your decision to post. The story has all the elements you described and took my thoughts back to tour now 3 decades old. All the same, I can't resist... I thought twice about posting it Horns of a dilemma, eh? |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2014-01-02 11:22 |
| #5 #1 I really bear this individual no ill will, I hope for as full a recovery as possible. Me too. I thought twice about posting it, but it seemed like a good fit here. Critters. Violence and confusion in the dark. Responders. PC. Tragicomedy. Above all, the ease with which destiny, having placidly ignored a lifetime of contortions or passivity or renunciation, effortlessly runs us down and, well, gores us like a stag. Or maybe that's just me. |
| Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 2014-01-02 10:44 |
| #4 Repost under Signs, Portents, and Weather ? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-01-02 09:52 |
| #3 For a stag to come out of the darkness like this and go for someone is highly unusual The Stag attacked the largest and scariest of the group. Kind of like the Prison Yard preservation technique that sometimes works. Or, based on M(r)(s) Stone's photo, he really hated Tiny Tim (the ukulele strummer, not the kid). |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2014-01-02 09:36 |
| #2 It was feared that the 44-year-old, who was born a man but changed gender in 2007. Possibly an old highlands hunting grudge ? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-01-02 09:07 |
| #1 I really bear this individual no ill will, I hope for as full a recovery as possible. I saw the big stags at Castle Culzean in Scotland. The fence was 18 feet high. At Castle Spannocchia in Italy, there was no fence separating us from the wild boars, but the groundskeeper warily kept us at a safe distance. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2014-01-02 08:48 |