Conservation Agent Uses Saw to Save 1 of 2 Tangled Bucks in Missouri
OutdoorHub Reporters 11.02.17
Here’s a good one – and it’s not a riddle: How does one go about separating two bucks with antlers locked together, when one is dead and the other one is still very much alive and thrashing?
You’d have to ask Greene County Conservation Agent Kevin Zielke for a tip or two, because he was recently faced with this dilemma.
According to Springfield News-Leader, this is how he handled the situation:
“I rounded up some rope and a reciprocating saw to get their antlers cut off,” Zielke said. he and state wildlife damage biologist, Josh Wisdom, worked to get a rope around the already deceased deer, then cinch it to a tree in order to control the other one.
“I got around and was kinda holding the live one while Josh used the saw on the antlers,” Zielke said. “He cut one antler off the deceased deer, and tried the saw on the one that was still alive. He managed to get two-thirds of the way through when we backed off to see if it would break. That deer was not happy we were there.”
The buck eventually broke loose from the other rack, and got the heck out of there as fast as it could.
“He stopped and blew, and snorted at us and took off again,” Zielke said.
Unfortunately, the venison could not be used from other deer because it had been dead for too long.
