Heres the newspaper story:
A five-point buck acted aggressively towards several people in the Chestnut Hill community on Tuesday, reported Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency Information Officer Allen Ricks.
Ricks said that early Tuesday morning, a young boy was leaving his residence to go to his mother’s van to be taken to school when the buck approached him.
“The buck scared the young man and he climbed underneath the van,” said Ricks. “His brother then came out of the house and wrestled with the buck before going back inside to get his mother.”
Ricks said that the second boy suffered minor scratches during the incident, but the mother was not injured. She did wrestle with the buck before it ran away.
“Later that day, the buck approached Francis Dennis, 83, of Upper Rhinehart Road, in the Reidtown community, who was feeding her chickens and the buck attacked her as well,” said Ricks.
Ricks said that the elderly women’s son-in-law, David Hale, came out of her residence and shot the buck.
“I wrestled with the buck for about 30 feet,” said Dennis. “I called for my son-in-law to get the gun, which he did.”
Dennis said the gun wasn’t loaded so it took him a few minutes before he was able to shoot the deer and her hands were badly bruised during the incident.
Dennis was treated by Dr. Michael Hood of the Family Practice Center in Newport.
“We have the buck and are sending samples to the disease control center in Atlanta, Georgia,” said Ricks. “The buck acted like it was a tame deer and it’s unusual for bucks to be carrying their antlers at this time of the year, so it might have had a brain abscess.”
Ricks said that it is important for children to remember when dealing with wild animals, to get an adult because wild animals can be dangerous.
“Wild animals are dangerous and it is unusual for them to approach humans, and, if they do, then something is wrong,” said Ricks. “If anyone is approached by a wild animal or an animal that should be considered as wild, they should call the authorities.”
<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 03-06-2003 18:16: Message edited by: MEATHEAD ]</font>
