This picture could finally prove the Emperor of Exmoor is dead, one of the West's best known wildlife experts said yesterday.

Documentary presenter Johnny Kingdom looked on as a man, who some believe to be a poacher, strode towards the prone stag and apparently cut its throat before phoning an accomplice. Mr Kingdom, who arguably knows the Emperor better than anyone, is convinced they show the majestic beast just minutes after it was shot.

Mr Kingdom was interivewed in yesterday's Mail on Sunday and said had broken his silence to end what he calls the "nonsense and half-truths" that have surrounded the animal's demise.

However, he fears both he and the unnamed photographer are at risk of reprisals, especially as the farming family which owns the field believes the mystery man in the images is a poacher.

Though grainy and taken from about 400 yards away, the sheer size of the antlers suggests that this was indeed the Emperor's last stand.

The killing ground was a valley near Tiverton, on the southern edge of Exmoor, which borders the stag's rutting territory in Worthy Folly Woods.

Mr Kingdom, 72, said: "There's no doubt in my mind – the stag lying dead in that field is the Emperor.

"I've watched and filmed him for years. I would know him anywhere.

"The antlers are huge, with a large number of top points.

"Yes, there are other big stags around but nothing comparable to him on this part of Exmoor. The date, the place, the stag's size – it all fits precisely with the shooting of the Emperor."

The final moments of the 8ft high, 300lb stag were played out ten minutes after sunrise on October 8. Mr Kingdom led a party – two local deer watchers and a couple from Kent who had paid £100 each to join the "safari" – into Worthy Folly Woods.

At 7.20am he heard two shots but could see neither stalker nor deer. To his horror, he realised the gunman could be firing towards his group.

"We could have been in serious danger," Mr Kingdom told the Mail on Sunday.

"I saw one of the stalkers standing beside the carcass. I could tell by the antlers that it was a huge stag and I knew in my heart it was the Emperor."

The suggestion it was poachers rather than licensed stalkers who shot the Emperor is backed up by the Frankpitt family, who own the land.

Norma Frankpitt said: "We've spoken to our regular stalkers and none of them know anything about this.

"We have to cull deer because otherwise they would do huge damage. This was probably the work of a poacher. We were on holiday at the time and the events are all rather bewildering."

The stag's head, with antlers that had a total of 17 points, could be worth £2,000 as a trophy to the right buyer and the meat could be sold for up to £300.