The buck lost most of his teeth due to human feeding.
Sad news from Torridon, Scotland. Authorities say Callum the stag had to be euthanized after he developed health problems from eating human food. Details of his condition at the time of death were not released, but it appears he was unable to forage as a result of consuming processed foods.
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Why was Callum the Stag killed?
Sadly, the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) told NDTV that the famous stag had to be euthanized after losing most of his teeth after years of eating human food.
These included foods like croissants, Doritos and Rice Krispies, as well as healthy options like carrots, but they eventually led to severe tooth decay and left Callum unable to find food on his own during the winter, a time when generous visitors may be fewer.
The charity said vets were upset but told them the most humane way to deal with Callum’s condition was to euthanise the buck.
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Where can you find Callum?
Before his death, Callum was a regular at Beinn Aye car park in Torridon, which is located on the well-travelled scenic route North 500. Speaking to NDTV about the news, Highlands historian Andrew Grant Mackenzie noted Callum’s tragic decline in health and said the stag had become something of a local legend.
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“The issue of humans feeding wild animals is a much-discussed issue in the Highlands and Calum’s popularity should be a way to get the message across that we must be careful when interacting with the natural world,” he warned.
Callum was popular with tourists and locals alike – just search his name on TikTok and you’ll quickly find a ton of videos of the stag.
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Unfortunately, most of the videos include footage of passersby offering Calum food, including one from a woman who shows the buck gleefully eating Doritos from her hand. The woman jokes in the video that Calum even turned down the healthy carrots she offered him in favor of what she calls a “spicy” snack.
“Although fascinating, the footage is a reminder that exposure to human food and germs can have tragic consequences for wildlife, even with the best of intentions. Future visitors to the Highlands should remember Callum’s story and Mackenzie’s words of warning, and think twice before interacting with other local animals in this way.”
