Pennsylvania Game Commission officials are investigating an attack by a whitetail buck on two Clinton County residents Wednesday morning.
The incident along Fishing Creek Road in Clintondale began when a woman attempted to go into her backyard to feed cats, and a buck that was standing at her back door would not let her out of the house, according to a commission news release. Alerted to the situation, a man exited the house to attempt to chase the deer away and, without warning, the buck repeatedly charged and gored him with its antlers.
The woman contacted state police at Lamar, a short distance away, at 7:40 a.m. and Cpl. Todd A. Brian and Trooper Stephen E. Wilcox responded and found the deer attacking the woman, who had entered the backyard in an attempt to stop the deer from attacking the man.
Unable to get a clear shot at the deer, Brian grabbed the deer by its antlers and wrestled it away from the woman. Both troopers then shot the deer, killing it.
The elderly couple were seriously injured, police said. They were treated initially at Lock Haven Hospital. It was not known Wednesday afternoon whether either or both had been transferred by ambulance to a regional medical center.
The seven-point buck focused its attack on the heads of the man and woman, police said.
A necropsy will be performed on the animal by Dr. Walter Cottrell, the Game Commission's veterinarian, headquartered at Penn State. "While this appears to be a healthy deer, we have taken samples of the deer to conduct various tests for any sign of disease, including chronic wasting disease and rabies," Cottrell said.
Packard said another possible cause of the attack is that deer are in the rut -- the mating season -- a time when bucks are at their most aggressive. For whatever reason, the deer chose to spar with these people.
"There is no doubt in my mind that the immediate response and action of Cpl. Brian and Trooper Wilcox saved the lives of the two victims," said Warren Stump, law enforcement supervisor for the commission's Northcentral District.
