Officials investigate deer attacks in Pulaski County

From The Roanoke Times
May 22, 2009


A rabies test on one aggressive deer that was shot and killed are due back today.
By Shawna Morrison | 381-1665

Officials are testing one deer for rabies after getting reports that three people were attacked by deer last week in Pulaski County.
An aggressive deer was shot and killed after it charged at an officer investigating the incidents, said Julia Dixon, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

The rabies test results are expected to come back today, she said.

DGIF is asking anyone else who may have seen aggressive deer to contact its office.

"While some does with fawns may be protective of their offspring," Dixon said in a news release, "this type of extremely aggressive behavior is unusual."

The DGIF was notified Saturday by the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office that a deer had attacked a man and his son in the Delton area of the county.

The man and his 7-year-old were attacked in their front yard after they pulled up into the driveway and got out of a car, Dixon said.

The man suffered a broken arm and bruises. The child had an abrasion on his face.

A conservation officer immediately responded to the home but was unable to find the deer, Dixon said.

Another man, after hearing about that attack, reported Tuesday that he also had been attacked by a deer, Dixon said. That incident happened Monday morning.

The man told a conservation officer that he was bitten and kicked by a deer while clearing brush off his property -- about half a mile from the other attack.

While an officer interviewed that victim Wednesday, he saw three deer. Two of them fled, but a third circled and exhibited aggressive behavior, Dixon said.

"When the deer approached the officer in an aggressive manner," Dixon said in the release, "he shot and killed the animal."

A wildlife biologist took the deer to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services lab in Wytheville, where tissue samples were collected and transferred to the Virginia Department of Health to be tested for rabies.

Conservation police officers from DGIF asked people in that area of Pulaski County whether they had seen deer exhibiting unusual behavior or whether anyone was feeding deer or holding them in captivity, Dixon said.

"Wildlife biologists in other states have observed aggressive behavior by deer in captive situations," Dixon said. "When deer lose their natural fear of humans, they can become extremely aggressive."

Anyone who sees a deer behaving aggressively should report it to the DGIF by calling (804) 367-1258.

The man that was bitten was last seen chasing people around wal-mart.

My home county is a great place to be from from.

Just about 2.5 hours from me. Been watching for the followup since I heard about it. Anyone know the findings?

Ken

neg for rabies...

http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=10405443

Had one of the wardens that worked it in here Saturday, told me it was "probably" a hand-fed deer raised as a pet, then turned out when it got too much to handle.
Walt

Here's the link from the Roanoke times, a terrible anit-gun/anit-hunting newspaper ("deer ... likely 200 lbs..") but an unusual story nonetheless.
Walt


http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/206578