These two bucks are going to die without human intervention.
It is an unfortunate scene that plays out every fall in North America's woods. Two bucks start fighting over turf or does and get their antlers hopelessly tangled up. For many deer, this is a long and extremely painful death. Locked up bucks are vulnerable to drowning and natural predators like coyotes who pick them off with ease.
In some cases, humans are fortunate enough to come across the scene before the worst happens and nature cruelly claims two more victims. That is exactly what happened here with Own Reigler in southern Iowa.
Owen was hoping simply to set up a new deer blind when he heard the distinctive sounds of two bucks hopelessly stuck together. There is only one way to get these bucks free and it involves a heavy tie-down and a chainsaw. It's a rescue you must see to believe.
These bucks were unlucky enough to have similar-sized racks that just happened to mesh perfectly with one another. There was no way they were getting free without a little bit of help.
Frankly, we were surprised when the more tired buck did not get his neck broken early in this video as his opponent dragged him and flipped him over several times trying to get free. That buck would have been the first one to die had Owen not intervened here. We have seen several videos here at Wide Open Spaces of hunters having to cut free bucks from already dead opponents. In some cases, the coyotes have already eaten most of the dead buck while the other combatant was still alive. Can you imagine how terrifying that must be for the deer?
This was not the cleanest deer rescue we have ever seen, but it worked out in the end. Both bucks will live to see another day, if slightly traumatized by the experience. It is certainly better than ending up as coyote chow. Great job Owen!
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
NEXT: THE SIG SAUER CROSS RIFLE FOLDS THE GAP BETWEEN TACTICAL, HUNTING PURPOSES
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