Of all the “which animal would win” conversations I’ve had, the idea of a whitetail buck and wild ram butting heads (literally) never even crossed my mind.
But in the wild world of Texas fauna, this exact situation played itself out on Tierra De Dios ranch in Cuero, Texas and the whole thing was captured on video.
At first, the buck seems to have absolutely no issue with the ram entering the area, given there was plenty of food for everyone and no threat of him stealing some mating rights with the local does.
But for some reason, the ram didn’t feel the same way and made a beeline to the buck with its head lowered.
As we’ve seen before, rams can pack quite the punch with a headbutt, but this specific species of ram is a bit different from it’s mountain dwelling relatives.
This specific species is called a Texas Dall Sheep, which is a cross of Mouflon ewes and Rambouillet rams specifically bred by humans for hunting purposes, according to Cotton Mesa Whitetail.
Unfortunately for this dall ram, it picked the wrong dance partner.
The buck seemed a bit surprised at the attack but was able to get its head down to prevent taking the brunt on its fragile front legs. It was able to shuck off the ram before mounting an attack of its own, this time driving the sheep backwards, clearly inflicting some damages by way of antlers. The ram attempted to run off, but the buck got underneath its hindquarters and lifted him into the air before driving the ram down into the dirt.
Eventually, the ram was able to get up and take off in an all out sprint for safety, the buck just inches behind looking to finish the job.
Incredible.
We always imagine deer as scared, skittish creatures, but this video shows they’ve got much more in them than we give them credit for.
