This Staten Island buck got aggressive after a man took selfies with it.
Staten Island has made headlines this year for their strange, controversial deer vasectomy program intended as a form of population control. But now another deer story may steal a few headlines. Staten Island Live reports that a buck, friendly at first, aggressively attacked a 41-year-old man.
Ryan Blanco was out for a walk Nov. 6, 2017 when an 8-point buck became more friendly than normal.
"He just let me start petting him," Blanco told Staten Island Live. "I took some pictures and I hung out with him for about 20 minutes."
While the buck was friendly at first, nature soon showed its unpredictability when the buck began following him home. It then blocked his path and things quickly became scary.
"He charged at me and I was lucky to grab him by the antlers and I was able to push him backwards," Blanco said.
Luckily, Blanco was able to escape after that, but he quickly realized how badly things could have gone.
"My phone battery was dying, so if something did happen, no one was going to find me until tomorrow morning."
The incident caused officials to remind the public that deer are wild animals and are unpredictable.
Still, in spite of the danger of the incident, Blanco was actually thankful for the encounter. "I have no regrets at all," Blanco told Staten Island Live. "It was the experience of a lifetime."
He also told the station the incident won't keep him from returning to the area where it happened.
There have been a number of friendly deer-human encounters across the U.S. this year, including a hunter who actually petted a buck in Wisconsin. However, this is one of the first encounters that didn't end in a friendly manner.
NEXT: WISCONSIN HUNTER GIVES FEARLESS BUCK A GOOD HEAD SCRATCH
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