Arkansas Hunter Killed After Attack by Deer He Just Shot

An Arkansas hunter has been killed after being attacked by a deer he shot.

Thomas Alexander, 66, went to check on a buck he'd just downed, when the animal got back up and impaled him on his antlers.

"I've worked for the Game and Fish Commission for 20 years, and it's one of the stranger things that's happened," Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesperson Keith Stephens told KY3.

"I don't know how long he left it there, but he went up to check it to make sure it was dead. And evidently it wasn't," he said in the report published Wednesday.

"It got back up, and he had several puncture wounds on his body."

Alexander managed to call his family and emergency services. He made it to hospital alive, but later passed away.

Stephens said it was unclear if he died directly from the injuries, or another cause such as a heart attack — nor will we ever know.

"It's my understanding there's not going to be an autopsy, so we may never know what actually happened," he said.

Stephens said that in two decades he had only ever seen one other hunter get stuck by a buck's antlers, about four years ago; that victim suffered "significant injuries", but survived.

He advised hunters to leave downed deer for at least 30 minutes before approaching them.

"When you get up there, be really careful around it because it may not be dead. But if you let them lay there for a while and they don't move, and he may have done that. We just don't know," he said.

While deer normally flee humans, they can become aggressive if they feel their young are threatened.

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