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strange problem with this deer

shoff14shoff14 Member Posts: 11,994 ✭✭✭
This is from ESPN website

P2_h_468x328_foundereddeer.jpg


Since posting my Tuesday blog about the whitetail deer found in Alma, Wisc. that sported unusually long hooves, I have been in contact with some folks close to this wild wildlife tale.

Jarrad Fluekiger, walleye guide and co-owner of The Main Channel Fishing Shop in Alma, e-mailed the photo of this strange-looking deer, along with some details.

Jarrard wrote that Jeff Rieck, a family friend, hit and killed the deer with his pickup one evening last week.

Folks around Alma have been seeing the long-toed wild buck for the past couple of years.

Landowner Curt Youngbauer said he's seen the buck in different areas in the past and it appeared to have some difficulty getting around. He said when he last saw the buck in the spring, only its front hooves appeared overgrown.

"When we asked the DNR about the unusual hooves they were as surprised and confused as we were," Fluekiger wrote. "They could only figure that either the deer found some high protein minerals or that the deer had some kind of bad gene."

My friend Mike Faw, prolific outdoor writer and editor of the Sports Afield Almanac, says he's only seen the malady in two other whitetail in his life.

"One case was nearly as severe and the other was less per hoof," Faw said. "When deer are afflicted, it seems to be all hooves. The deer also walk semi-normal and can run, but the hooves can make a distinct flopping noise that can be heard a considerable distance away. Neither deer that I saw had been confined or unable to walk for a time, so the excessive growth could not be explained."

How about our blog readers? Can you shed any light on this oddity of nature?

Comments

  • Chief ShawayChief Shaway Member, Moderator Posts: 6,191 ******
    edited November -1
    Those legs would make some neat gun racks.[:D]
  • gagirlgagirl Member Posts: 5,408
    edited November -1
    My step daughter had a squirrel thats teeth turned in an odd way and made it where they would not nautrally wear down. We had to file his teeth on a regular basis. I also had a horse that could never be shod, only trimmed due to a turn in 3 of his hooves. I would figure it could be the same with this deer. Maybe something during the forming year caused a defect which caused his hooves to trun up in a way that they would not nautrally wear down. I think a full mount on this deer and being in a Cabelas or BPS would be cool. And make some $ at the same time!
  • buckeyboybuckeyboy Member Posts: 5,833
    edited November -1
    I understand this deer was found in an area that was heavily hunted with lots of big hills. My only explanation would be that he evolved these so he could easily ski away from hunters when being persued. however they slowed him down in the summer months which led to his demise.[;)]
  • bang250bang250 Member Posts: 8,021
    edited November -1
    Looks just like a cow hoof when not trimmed. Aren't deer ruminant the same as cows? I was thinkin they are, 4 chamber stomach, chew there cud, blah,blah ,blah. I am actuall more suprised that we don't see more of this type of thing if they are indeed a ruminant like cows. especially the deer that are in close proximaty to livestock that have salt/trace mineral blocks.
  • john in jaxjohn in jax Member Posts: 129 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I know horse hooves require regular maintenance/trimming (been there, done that) or they will grow too long and split or crack - - BUT the hooves on that deer are ridiculous.
  • hsracer201hsracer201 Member Posts: 966 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    wow, that's pretty freaky. [:0]
  • 47studebaker47studebaker Member Posts: 2,251 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    puts me in mind of a pen raised animal without an area for exercise or some way to wear down its hoofs.
  • buckeyboybuckeyboy Member Posts: 5,833
    edited November -1
    I still think my explanation explains what happend.[:D][:D]
  • SuspensionSuspension Member Posts: 4,783
    edited November -1
    that's weird, don't think I've ever seen any cattle or sheep with hooves that over-grown.
  • DaBowMan18DaBowMan18 Member Posts: 2,962
    edited November -1
    a saw an article on this. it is some kind of disease. i dont remember what it is called tho slipperfoot er somethin
  • Hunter MagHunter Mag Member Posts: 6,611 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    At first I thought the pic was photo shopped?
    But those hoofs would make some nice knife handles.
  • jagjag Member Posts: 484 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    da bow man is right-its called slipperfoot. typically caused by a diet high in carbohydrates. more prevalent in areas where baiting and supplemental feeding is legal. There is a few paragraphs on the subject in d & dh nov. '05.
  • shoff14shoff14 Member Posts: 11,994 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by jag
    da bow man is right-its called slipperfoot. typically caused by a diet high in carbohydrates. more prevalent in areas where baiting and supplemental feeding is legal. There is a few paragraphs on the subject in d & dh nov. '05.


    Interesting that it has a name. I have grown up on a farm with livestock, and never seen anything like it.
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