These Deer Know How To Make The News

I always enjoy a good news story when it’s about a deer.   Today, in fact, there were two quite interesting stories about deer.   Both were unusual, yet entertaining if you enjoy the sometimes exciting escapades of these cloven-hooved creatures.

The first story is about a deer out at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.   You can read the complete story here.   It seems a young buck was injured and confused after likely being hit by a car.   The deer then stumbled its way through automatic doors and into a baggage claim area where it had to be tranquilized by animal control officers, and eventually destroyed because of its injuries.

Perhaps one of the funniest things about this story is how airport officials were quick to point out that security had not been breached.   How embarrassing would that be to have a deer get into a secured area and go unnoticed?   The writer of the article also pointed out that the deer was a buck, "although it didn’t have much of a rack"…as if this information was even germane to the story.

Of course, there was another story today where the buck’s rack was quite pertinent.   Did you hear of the 27-point buck shot near Duluth?   It sounded to me like the deer wanted to die, because the hunter was given more chances and missed than some hunters get in three seasons worth of hunting.

According to writer Sam Cook, with the Duluth News Tribune, the hunter shot twice and missed both times.   The third shot was a leg hit…and the fourth shot was another miss.   Finally the hunter caught up with the deer where it was bedded down…and made the shot count.   In the end he discovered a 27 point deer with a very impressive rack.

It seems every fall there is a story of legendary deer that is taken by a hunter in some part of the state.   So far this fall the “27 Point Buck” is the story for 2004 in Minnesota.   Certainly the hunter is due his bragging rights, but did he have to be so honest in describing his lack of shooting proficiency.   Sure, it makes for a good story, but the way this buck’s demise reads it might be better described as a suicide buck.   It did not take great hunting prowess to bag this unusual boy.   Then again, sometimes it pays to be luckier than good.

A non-typical buck like this one is truly a trophy in its own right.   You can hunt an entire lifetime and never see a buck such as this one in the wild.   Experts tell us to some extent genetics might have played a small role in developing this freak of nature…but more likely it was caused by an injury the deer sustained during the growing stage of the antlers.   Much like a rare clam that develops a coveted pearl, the non-typical deer is a real gem found occasionally in Minnesota’s woodlands.

I guess when deer make the news it usually means the deer did something unusual or spectacular to get noticed.   It also usually means the deer probably did not survive the situation that got them noticed.   Still, there’s nothing quite like a good deer story to put a smile on my face…especially after spending my two day hunting season this year without seeing a single deer.

© 2004 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved.   No Reproduction without Prior Permission.