If we told you that shooting at two deer was the only way to save them both, you’d think we’d gone mad. But that’s exactly what happened in this next story.
It was a snowy day in Calgary, Alberta when Russ Wright spotted something unusual. He had been driving through some quiet roads when he first became distracted by something out of the corner of his eye.
On these quiet Canadian roads, it’s not uncommon to see some wildlife on your journey. So when Russ realized that this distraction had been caused by two bucks, he was about to continue driving.
But that was until he noticed the deer appeared to be acting strangely. As he got closer, he soon realized that they needed some help.
The adult bucks appeared to be locked in a struggle- a struggle that they couldn’t get out of.
The bucks’ antlers were entwined and they appeared to be fighting- but on closer inspection, Russ could see that they were actually tangled together. They had likely been fighting at one point, but now the two enemies had become completely stuck to each other.
Well, they do say to keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
The deer had been stuck together for what could have been hours. Instead of accepting their differences and becoming friends (which is probably more of a human approach), they had become more and more angry as time went on. Their struggles to get free were putting each other- and themselves- in danger.
“I stopped and realized these deer had locked antlers,” Wright told Global News. “That’s crazy because you just don’t see that. They were locked tight.”
Russ wanted to help, but was at a loss for what to do. He called Fish and Wildlife, who immediately sent someone out.
It’s not uncommon for adult bucks to fight as a way to establish their superiority or win themselves a mate. But these two had lost out on getting themselves a doe or any kind of superiority when they had become stuck together. In fact, they didn’t even have much dignity left.
The males will spar with each other using their antlers to establish dominance and claim females. Antlers are also useful for defense against other deer and predators. When fighting other deer, deer hit each other with their antlers and often lock their antlers together. – Sciencing
Scott Kallweit was quick to arrive on scene, but even he wasn’t sure what to do.
Scott didn’t want to do anything which could put the bucks in any more risk of hurting themselves. He could also chance hurting himself if he got too close. He considered a tranquilizer, but decided that it wasn’t a good option since the two bucks were so hyped up on adrenaline.
“It was pretty dynamic in terms of them moving around and bouncing around,” Kallweit said. “I knew they had a lot of energy. It was a good possibility that they were probably not going to get separated by themselves.”
Scott had to really think outside the box in order to help the two bucks.
Equipped with a 12 gauge shotgun, Scott moved as closely as possible to the two deer. He then waited until they got used to his presence, before lifting the barrel of the gun to the right height.
In one perfect shot, Scott fired right between the antlers of the two bucks.
Scott and Russ waited with baited breath to see if the plan had worked. The deer stumbled in surprise at the loud noise, and in that same second, they managed to break free of each other! It seemed that they had been close to freeing themselves already, and Scott’s shot had helped them along.
Watch Scott’s amazing shot in the video below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
