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DEER

Aggressive deer put down after attacking four in Geneva

Authorities in Geneva have put down a rutting deer that attacked four people over the course of 48 hours, according to reports.

Aggressive deer put down after attacking four in Geneva
File photo: Michal Kosacky

The buck went on the rampage at the end of July in a residential area in the Collonge-Bellerive area of Geneva, newspaper 24 Heures said on Thursday.

Describing his experience to the paper, one of the animal’s victims, José Taboada, said he was driving his van through the area on July 25th when he saw it leap out of a sunflower field a few metres from his vehicle.

Taboada got out of the van to take a photo of the buck with his phone when it attacked.

“It stood up on its hind legs and charged at me,” he told 24 Heures.

He tried and failed to catch the animal by the antlers, afraid that it was going to gore his stomach or face.

After several minutes, the deer gave up the fight and left, said Taboada, leaving him needing five stitches to a wound on his thigh.

The incident was one of four in the space of 48 hours, leading the canton’s environment authorities to put the animal down rather than risk further attacks.

Speaking to the paper, Alain Rauss of Geneva’s environment authorities said deer are normally afraid of humans and such attacks are rare.

In this case, examinations revealed the deer to have excessive hormone levels.

“In the rutting period the males are more aggressive. They lose their fear of humans and consider everything that moves to be a potential competitor,” said Rauss.

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