2/17/2005: Live deer and dead deer lock horns

Undertoad · 02-17-2005, 07:19 AM

Wuh-oh. xoxoxoBruce sends along a crazy series here: a live deer and a dead deer with locked horns in Oregon. They shot the horn off the dead deer with a pistol to free the live one.The live one continued to fight with the dead one and charged the truck! This happened over the 2004 Thanksgiving weekend.

Trilby · 02-17-2005, 08:28 AM

Um...yuck?

magilla · 02-17-2005, 08:54 AM

There's something really off about that. A deer is not going to start doing the dominance thing with a dead deer. On top of that, it is really really rare for antlers to get locked up so badly the deer cannot disengage. I have a feeling this pair was seen by hunters who plugged one of them. As the animal fell, or twisted, or jumped, the antlers became locked.

By the way, I am not saying the hunters did anything wrong, if that's indeed what happened. I myself used to hunt, and I probably would have taken one too

Hmmm. A couple observations. I went to Oregon State, and the soil in parts of the Coast Range there is almost unique- it's an odd type of clay, and the soil in the photos has that look to it. But it's awfully dry for Thanksgiving. And something that contradicts my hunter theory- the guy in the photo does not look like he's dressed for deer season. Just tack it up on the "Life's Little Mysteries" bulletin board, I guess.

xant · 02-17-2005, 11:35 AM

I kind of buy the hunter theory. Just because the guy wasn't dressed for hunting season doesn't mean there wasn't someone out there with a gun.. hunting outside of hunting season. Perhaps the blue shirt guy was already nearby and the hunter freaked out when they realized they might get caught.

Furthermore, deer get the urge to lock horns during mating season most commonly. I would expect hunting season to be timed not to coincide with mating season, which leads me to believe in the "freak out" theory.

Kitsune · 02-17-2005, 12:11 PM

What a live deer does with a dead one is odd, but it has nothing on a live versus dead mallard.

To truly appreciate this, you have to read the full study in PDF form.

Elspode · 02-17-2005, 01:43 PM

Deer get hornlocked in combat. The one could have died in the course of being locked up with the other.

I knew a guy who found interlocked, dead deer skulls while hunting one year. I even heard tell once of a deer who was seen wandering around with another deer's rack entangled in his own, sans his opposite deer.

jinx · 02-17-2005, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kitsune

What a live deer does with a dead one is odd, but it has nothing on a live versus dead mallard.

Oh man. Ducks are nasty little fuckers.

04-02-2009, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by magilla

There's something really off about that. A deer is not going to start doing the dominance thing with a dead deer. On top of that, it is really really rare for antlers to get locked up so badly the deer cannot disengage. I have a feeling this pair was seen by hunters who plugged one of them. As the animal fell, or twisted, or jumped, the antlers became locked.

By the way, I am not saying the hunters did anything wrong, if that's indeed what happened. I myself used to hunt, and I probably would have taken one too

Hmmm. A couple observations. I went to Oregon State, and the soil in parts of the Coast Range there is almost unique- it's an odd type of clay, and the soil in the photos has that look to it. But it's awfully dry for Thanksgiving. And something that contradicts my hunter theory- the guy in the photo does not look like he's dressed for deer season. Just tack it up on the "Life's Little Mysteries" bulletin board, I guess.

All right, this thread is old as fuck but I have a couple of things to say. The first is, why do people speak with The Voice of Authority on subjects they obviously know little about?

1. Bucks in breeding season will fight ANYTHING. Trees, cars, horses, whatever.

2. It's really, really common for antlers to get locked up so badly the bucks cannot disengage. It usually leads to slow starvation for both bucks.

3. The dead one has obviously been dead for quite some time... look at how collapsed its sides are, the liquifecation of its entrails evident under the tail, and the hair sloughing off. Due to the location, I'ma guess roadkill. Meanwhile, the live buck looks pretty healthy, not like it's been locked up with a dead buck for very long.

4. That is OBVIOUSLY not the Coast Range... that's the east side of the Cascades, which is evident by both the soil and the flora.

5. Given the location, dry for Thanksgiving is typical.

-Oregon born and raised.

mrnoodle · 02-17-2005, 01:42 PM

That dead deer has been dead for at least a day, I'd guess. notice all the hair sloughing off in the road.

The live one is looking kinda fluffy himself, and doesn't have the patches of hair worn off, indicating a late fall timeframe - pre-rut, but just starting to feel feisty. Also, notice the dead underbrush, but the kind of tacky mud texture of the dirt. Like it was a dry season, but had rained in the last week or so. What was the weather like in Oregon this year?

Oregon's hunting season starts as early as August 10 for archery, with concurrent rifle hunting going on in certain areas. It runs off and on through December, so there's plenty of legal hunting time this could've happened in.

There's also the option that the deer broke its neck during the fight. Mule deer have something like a 10% serious injury/death rate in males solely from fighting.

lookout123 · 02-17-2005, 02:17 PM

wow. i was thinking today was friday. my first thought was that THIS IS NOT A HAPPY ANIMAL PICTURE! for just a second i thought Tony had gone off the deep end. then i realized i was on the wrong day again.

polar · 02-17-2005, 06:32 PM

That's not actually a dead moose. It's the Berkowitzs

xoxoxoBruce · 02-17-2005, 08:03 PM

I've seen dozens of sets of locked antlers (sans animals) in stores, museums and tourist-ty places. It's the sort of thing that when you run across one in the woods, you just can't Leave it there.
Warm dry weather in the northwest this year. The ski resorts have shut down. Even southern Alaska has been up near freezing much of this year.

Polar, that went right over my head???

polar · 02-18-2005, 04:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Polar, that went right over my head???

Woody Allen's Dead Moose sketch. It's on Snopes here if you scroll down

xoxoxoBruce · 02-18-2005, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by polar

Woody Allen's Dead Moose sketch. It's on Snopes here if you scroll down

Oh, thoooose Berkowitzs.

Thanks polar, that's a great routine.

Undertoad · 02-18-2005, 07:46 AM

Being a comedy fan, a stand-up fan, a vintage comedy fan, a vintage stand-up fan, who owns the Woody Allen double album (on vinyl!) stand-up routine which contains that bit and who has played it on the radio, I did not remember the reference and thereby pronounce it Extremely Obscure™.

02-17-2005, 07:19 AM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	2/17/2005: Live deer and dead deer lock horns Wuh-oh. xoxoxoBruce sends along a crazy series here: a live deer and a dead deer with locked horns in Oregon. They shot the horn off the dead deer with a pistol to free the live one.The live one continued to fight with the dead one and charged the truck! This happened over the 2004 Thanksgiving weekend.

02-17-2005, 08:28 AM	#2
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	Um...yuck? __________________ In Barrie's play and novel, the roles of fairies are brief: they are allies to the Lost Boys, the source of fairy dust and ...They are portrayed as dangerous, whimsical and extremely clever but quite hedonistic. "Shall I give you a kiss?" Peter asked and, jerking an acorn button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her. —James Barrie Wimminfolk they be tricksy. - ZenGum

02-17-2005, 11:35 AM	#4
xant Belt Conveyor Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 65	Hunter theory I kind of buy the hunter theory. Just because the guy wasn't dressed for hunting season doesn't mean there wasn't someone out there with a gun.. hunting outside of hunting season. Perhaps the blue shirt guy was already nearby and the hunter freaked out when they realized they might get caught. Furthermore, deer get the urge to lock horns during mating season most commonly. I would expect hunting season to be timed not to coincide with mating season, which leads me to believe in the "freak out" theory.

02-17-2005, 01:43 PM	#6
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	Deer get hornlocked in combat. The one could have died in the course of being locked up with the other. I knew a guy who found interlocked, dead deer skulls while hunting one year. I even heard tell once of a deer who was seen wandering around with another deer's rack entangled in his own, sans his opposite deer. __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

02-17-2005, 01:42 PM	#9
mrnoodle bent Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: under the weather Posts: 2,656	That dead deer has been dead for at least a day, I'd guess. notice all the hair sloughing off in the road. The live one is looking kinda fluffy himself, and doesn't have the patches of hair worn off, indicating a late fall timeframe - pre-rut, but just starting to feel feisty. Also, notice the dead underbrush, but the kind of tacky mud texture of the dirt. Like it was a dry season, but had rained in the last week or so. What was the weather like in Oregon this year? Oregon's hunting season starts as early as August 10 for archery, with concurrent rifle hunting going on in certain areas. It runs off and on through December, so there's plenty of legal hunting time this could've happened in. There's also the option that the deer broke its neck during the fight. Mule deer have something like a 10% serious injury/death rate in males solely from fighting. __________________ Sìn a nall na cuaranan sin. -- Cha mhór is fheairrde thu iad, tha iad coltach ri cat air a dhathadh Last edited by mrnoodle; 02-17-2005 at 01:42 PM. Reason: to note that the duck thing is nasty :P

02-17-2005, 08:54 AM	#3
magilla Belt Conveyor Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 67	There's something really off about that. A deer is not going to start doing the dominance thing with a dead deer. On top of that, it is really really rare for antlers to get locked up so badly the deer cannot disengage. I have a feeling this pair was seen by hunters who plugged one of them. As the animal fell, or twisted, or jumped, the antlers became locked. By the way, I am not saying the hunters did anything wrong, if that's indeed what happened. I myself used to hunt, and I probably would have taken one too Hmmm. A couple observations. I went to Oregon State, and the soil in parts of the Coast Range there is almost unique- it's an odd type of clay, and the soil in the photos has that look to it. But it's awfully dry for Thanksgiving. And something that contradicts my hunter theory- the guy in the photo does not look like he's dressed for deer season. Just tack it up on the "Life's Little Mysteries" bulletin board, I guess.

02-17-2005, 12:11 PM	#5
Kitsune still eats dirt Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 3,031	What a live deer does with a dead one is odd, but it has nothing on a live versus dead mallard. To truly appreciate this, you have to read the full study in PDF form.

02-17-2005, 02:17 PM	#10
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	wow. i was thinking today was friday. my first thought was that THIS IS NOT A HAPPY ANIMAL PICTURE! for just a second i thought Tony had gone off the deep end. then i realized i was on the wrong day again. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

02-17-2005, 06:32 PM	#11
polar Fellow-Commoner Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 10	That's not actually a dead moose. It's the Berkowitzs

02-17-2005, 08:03 PM	#12
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	I've seen dozens of sets of locked antlers (sans animals) in stores, museums and tourist-ty places. It's the sort of thing that when you run across one in the woods, you just can't Leave it there. Warm dry weather in the northwest this year. The ski resorts have shut down. Even southern Alaska has been up near freezing much of this year. Polar, that went right over my head??? __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

02-18-2005, 07:46 AM	#15
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Being a comedy fan, a stand-up fan, a vintage comedy fan, a vintage stand-up fan, who owns the Woody Allen double album (on vinyl!) stand-up routine which contains that bit and who has played it on the radio, I did not remember the reference and thereby pronounce it Extremely Obscure™.

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