Conservation Officer Attacked By Deer
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
A conservation officer was gored by a penned deer Saturday afternoon while he was feeding the animal.
Carl Hepler of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources has two whitetail bucks in separate pens at his McKenna Road residence, according to conservation officer Lyle Enyeart. When Hepler was feeding a 2-1/2-year-old male, the animal attacked him when he turned his back to it.
Enyeart said that it is instinct for the animals to fight this time of year. Normally, Enyeart said, a buck will try to fight another buck, but will also fight a doe "or anything he can. ... Carl said he knew he made a mistake and turned his back."
Hepler was pinned in the corner by the animal and it "kept going at him," said Kosciusko County Sheriff Al Rovenstine. A 911 call regarding the incident came into the sheriff's department at 3:58 p.m. Saturday.
Hepler suffered multiple puncture wounds to his legs, including six which were stitched up after he was taken by ambulance to Kosciusko Community Hospital. He was later released and is recuperating at home.
"Carl is a very strong man and, if anyone could have wrestled a deer off, it would be Carl," Enyeart said. However, Hepler was apparently struggling with the animal when his mother and some other people at the residence began yelling. The noise distracted the deer and Hepler was able to get away from the animal and out of the pen. Otherwise, Enyeart said, "it could have killed him." [[In-content Ad]]
A conservation officer was gored by a penned deer Saturday afternoon while he was feeding the animal.
Carl Hepler of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources has two whitetail bucks in separate pens at his McKenna Road residence, according to conservation officer Lyle Enyeart. When Hepler was feeding a 2-1/2-year-old male, the animal attacked him when he turned his back to it.
Enyeart said that it is instinct for the animals to fight this time of year. Normally, Enyeart said, a buck will try to fight another buck, but will also fight a doe "or anything he can. ... Carl said he knew he made a mistake and turned his back."
Hepler was pinned in the corner by the animal and it "kept going at him," said Kosciusko County Sheriff Al Rovenstine. A 911 call regarding the incident came into the sheriff's department at 3:58 p.m. Saturday.
Hepler suffered multiple puncture wounds to his legs, including six which were stitched up after he was taken by ambulance to Kosciusko Community Hospital. He was later released and is recuperating at home.
"Carl is a very strong man and, if anyone could have wrestled a deer off, it would be Carl," Enyeart said. However, Hepler was apparently struggling with the animal when his mother and some other people at the residence began yelling. The noise distracted the deer and Hepler was able to get away from the animal and out of the pen. Otherwise, Enyeart said, "it could have killed him." [[In-content Ad]]