12 December 2011 Last updated at 10:16 ET

Hartnoll Hotel mounted stag's head may be Exmoor Emperor

The head of a giant red deer stag, believed to have been the biggest wild land animal in the UK, is thought to be mounted on the wall of a Devon hotel.

The Exmoor Emperor was killed near Rackenford in October last year.

Claire Carter, who owns the Hartnoll Hotel in Bolham, near Tiverton, said it would be "fantastic" if it was him, but she only thought the head was similar.

Photographer Richard Austin, who named the giant stag, said he was "95% sure" it was the Emperor.

He said although the mane of the hotel's mounted stag had been trimmed, it had a particular bump on its right antler which appeared identical to the Emperor's.

After comparing the mounted stag with images he captured of the Emperor, he said: "I've had a good look and it's close - very, very close."

The Hartnoll hotel is nine miles from where the stag was killed.

"It's a blooming good coincidence... I'm 95% sure it is the Emperor," Mr Austin said.

Weighing more than 135kg (300lb) and standing nearly 2.75m (9ft) tall, it is believed the Emperor was shot by a licensed hunter during the annual rut.

But its death led to calls from some deer experts to protect wild stags during the mating season.

At the time, Mr Austin said the Emperor had been a "definite target" because of his magnificent antlers.

Ms Carter, who has refused to say who loaned her the stag's head about a month ago, said the Hartnoll was a "country hotel for country people" and no-one has complained about the mounted stag.

She said shooting parties, who regularly use the hotel, have been joking about the similarity to the Emperor.

"They all look the same don't they, so I didn't ask... maybe it's a relative," she said.

Ms Carter, who is interested in taxidermy and has some specimens at home, said the person who offered her the stag's head had not mentioned the Emperor, nor had she asked.

But she said it would be nice to have something that had been "killed locally".