A very sick roe buck?

Erik Hamburger

Well-Known Member
I was out in a High Seat last Wednesday when a roe buck walked very slowly from right to left behind me, and came within 5 yards. The animal seemed quite thin, his head was hanging low, every step appeared slow and laboured, and it didn't seem to be alert. It was a 4-pointer but didn't seem well. I knew a buck had been injured by another stalker in the same area a week before and wasn't found, despite bringing in a Bavarian Mountain Hound to track it. However I couldn't see any injuries, neither was it limping. I decided it was a cull buck and tried to get it to turn around so I could take a broadside shot (by now some 70-80 Yards away). Making a few noises, it hardly responded and wasn't alarmed, neither did it respond to a few very load shouts. It simply kept on walking in a straight line, along the field margin of a rape field, away from me, slowly slowly, until out of sight. With its head hanging low a back-headshot was out of the question.

Any ideas? was this buck 'drunk' on rape, or ill?
 
Head low, quite thin, laboured walking? Sound like an old buck to me, could be wrong tho.

Tom
 
I shot a buck with all the symtoms you have described. When I gralloched it (no intention of eating it) there was hardly any blood in the cavity - its lungs were almost white - lung worms, how it was still alive was beyond me.
 
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