We’ve seen some strange deer harvests this year.
From an eight-year-old bagging a buck with a thick line of velvet covering its antlers, to a red stag roaming around in Alabama, a buck with a third eye, and even a buck that was locked up with another buck that had already been scavenged by coyotes.
And here we have yet another obscure harvest on our hands.
According to the Springfield News-Leader, Mike Lewis was bowhunting in Nodaway County, Missouri, and bagged himself a nice buck…
But this wasn’t any ol’ buck, because this one had an antlered skull attached to it.
The Missouri Department of Conservation shared in a social media post:
“Bowhunter Mike Lewis legally harvested two antlered deer in one shot during archery season. The deer he harvested still had the skull and antlers of another deer locked in its rack.
Mike contacted Nodaway County Agent Kris Smith after recovering the deer and asked for a wildlife disposition to legally possess the extra deer skull and antlers. What a find!”
Lewis contacted county agent Kris Smith about the legality of possessing the extra deer skull and antlers, and it was approved.
I mean SHEESH. I just wonder how long this buck was locked to the other, considering it had decomposed so much to the point that it was just a skull.
I guess we can add yet another odd buck that was harvested while locked to another buck’s rack to the list of others so far this deer season.
Mule Deer Buck Locked Up With A Dead Buck Ravaged By Coyotes
According to Field & Stream, wildfire archeologist for the United State Forest Service Adam Segroves was traveling to work on November 19th, when he noticed two bucks with their antlers locked up.
Segroves recalled the wild scene:
“I took a look in the rearview mirror, and out of the corner of my eye I saw this huge rack. But the deer’s head was down, and it didn’t come up as I passed by.
Then I realized he was locked up to the antlers of an even bigger buck.”
When he discovered the locked bucks, one was alive, but was visibly exhausted, and the other had been dead for at least several hours, if not days, and its body had been completely scavenged by a pack of coyotes.
He continued:
“The older 5X5 either passed out or bled out overnight, and the coyotes must’ve ate him while the 4X4 watched and defended himself. The 5X5’s eyeballs were frozen solid when I found them, so he’d obviously been dead for a while.”
Segroves knew he had to take action and free the other while he was still alive
However, the horns were heavily locked and weren’t budging, so he flagged down a passing hunter who happened to have a field dressing kit with a bone saw.
Although he was able to free the buck, he’s still concerned how long the buck will actually make it, given its condition… he looked pretty shaky walking off. A combination of exhaustion, hunger, thirst… hopefully he can get his strength back quickly.
You can check out the wild scene below:
