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Other articles in Animals > Wild
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| Doe, A Deer, A Killer Deer |
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| Animals > Wild |
| Written by Joseph Lee Zeleny |
| Thursday, 22 January 2009 21:33 |
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“It just stood there, staring at me. I stared back looking amazed. Why was it just standing there? It should have run off by now. But it didn’t run off. It wasn’t afraid of me. It was mad, and I was right there. It charged me, biting, kicking me with his hooves, and goring me. It felt like the attack went on forever before it finally ran off. I ended up having 300 stitches, two surgeries, and to this day can’t stand for more than a few minutes at a time.” During a party with a few friends of mine I heard this man talking about his experience. As I had walked in on the conversation I had to think hard about what kind of animal had done this. I went through animals and based on what he was talking about figured it had to be a wild boar. The hooves eliminated bears and mountain lions, the goring had to come from tusks or horns. Wild pigs are also very well known to attack people. I asked him what he was doing the day it happened and he told me that he was out in the Fort Bragg area of northern California hunting for mushrooms. During his hunt he slipped and fell right into a pile of manure. He cleaned himself off, saw some wild mushrooms a few feet away and spent a good amount of time picking the fungi. When he stood up, he saw the creature that would change his life forever. But it wasn’t a wild boar. It wasn’t a mountain Lion. It wasn’t a bear. It was a deer. Bambi had attacked this poor guy. I was stunned to say the least. I go out hiking quite a  bit and see deer all the time. The thought that an animal that weighs about half of what I do and is still the number two character that comes to mind when people think Disney boggled me. I had no reason to believe him to be lying, but I had to research this myself. I went online and in starting to look around and discovered just how dangerous these little woodland creatures could be. So here is some of the information I found out.A 73 year old man in Sante Fe, California died because of antler wounds he sustained to his head from a deer attack while in his garden. A 56 year old woman in Clearlake, California was in the hospital for nearly two weeks just outside her home. Even her husband was injured as he tried to protect his wife. Another couple was heading back to their truck in Covelo, California. After knocking the husband down, the wife grabbed a piece of timber at the animal only to sustain injuries herself. The list went on and on, some of which were just too brutal and descriptive for me to finish. I finally went down to the department of fish and game to talk to some of the people who worked there. Sure enough, they were well aware of the dangers of deer and when I explained to them the story of the gentleman I met at the party. Their look told me they had a good idea what had caused it. During the fall is the Deer mating season. Male deer are already on a heightened sense of anxiety and aggression. During the season, females also excrete strong pheromones to attract males. These pheromones are released through pours, glands, and even in the deer’s excrement. So the odds are good that the guy slipped in feces that belonged to a doe in heat. Since the bucks are attracted to it, it really is no surprise that the buck was there. Even the level of anger that must have been going through that primitive mind when what stood up was not what he expected was now understandable.  So the next time your are out in the woods during the Autumn season, keep in mind that if you see a deer, this isn’t something you should try to approach. Even young males are dangerous and even if all you see is a female, remember, someone is looking for her. |
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