A formerly blind and deaf deer has regained her senses at a north-east animal sanctuary.
The female roe deer was spotted by a Newmachar couple acting oddly near their home last month, but they managed to lure it into their summerhouse, so they could seek help.
The New Arc, near Ellon, has now announced that the animal – which it has named Amber – is recovering well at their sanctuary.
The animal is thought to have suffered a serious head trauma and, as a result, had become both deaf and blind.
New Arc founder Keith Marley said last night the condition has previously been witnessed in small birds and mammals.
He added: “Over the next few days, the stress level seemed to drop and Amber, as we decided to call her, remained calm and was fed well.
“Within a week, it was obvious Amber had regained her hearing and was responding to our coming and going. However, she was still completely blind.
“It wasn’t until October 7 that we began to see signs that she had begun to differentiate between light and dark and showed signs of recognising movement.
“By October 10, it had become obvious that her vision had improved dramatically.”
Amber is now recovering alongside two other deer – Logan and Fen – which have been recovered by the charity.
Mr Marley said that Amber has adapted well to her new surroundings and could be released back into the wild by next summer.
He explained: “At first, there was a lot of excitement with lots of prancing and bounding about, but that has settled down now.
“The comforting thing is that, when they get a scare from human presence, they group together and seem to have developed some herd behaviour.
“All three will stay with us until May or June next year, when hopefully we can release them as wild deer back into their natural environment.”