PexelsA hunter in Arkansas died after being attacked by a deer he had just shot.
Thomas Alexander, from Marion County, USA, shot the buck with a muzzle loading gun while hunting near Yellville.
The 66-year-old then went to check the animal to make sure it was dead, and ‘evidently, it wasn’t.’
Check out the local news report below:
Keith Stephens, the Chief of Communications for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, said the incident was ‘one of the stranger things’ to occur in the area.
As reported by KY3, Stephens said:
I’ve worked for the Game and Fish Commission for 20 years, and it’s one of the stranger things that’s happened.
I don’t know how long he left it there, but he went up to check it to make sure it was dead. And evidently it wasn’t.
As the 66-year-old walked up to check the animal, Stephens explained, the deer suddenly attacked. ‘It got back up, and he had several puncture wounds on his body,’ he added.
Alexander was reportedly lone-hunting at the time of the incident. Following the accident, he was able to phone his family who then called emergency services on his behalf. Unfortunately, he later passed away at hospital.
KY3The deer’s status is currently unknown. It’s also not been confirmed whether Alexander died as a result of the puncture wounds, or whether he passed away following another cause, such as a heart attack.
Stephens added: ‘It’s my understanding there’s not going to be an autopsy, so we may never know what actually happened.’
Following the incident, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission have issued a fresh warning to hunters: if you shoot an animal, such as a deer, make sure it’s not moving for at least 30 minutes before approaching it.
KY3The chief of communications added a similar incident took place in the nearby Ashley County, however it didn’t end with a fatality.
Stephens explained:
There was somebody that did get stuck by a buck’s antlers, and this was about four years ago. And it was pretty significant, but they did survive.
When you get up there, be really careful around it because it may not be dead. But if you let them lay there for a while and they don’t move, and he may have done that. We just don’t know.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.