Sparring bucks gets stuck together by antlers, photos show. Then a Kansas man steps in

Two sparring bucks got in a bind when their antlers got stuck together in Kansas, photos show.

Then a landowner and game warden stepped in.

The landowner spotted the deer stuck together in the dark Wednesday night along a road by his property in Jefferson County, just north of Lawrence, according to Kansas game wardens.

The landowner called a game warden, who immediately showed up to help, officials say.

They teamed up to free the bucks from each other. While one of the deer bounded away into the night, the other didn’t survive. It was salvaged by the landowner.

Bucks spar as part of a breeding strategy to determine strength and resolve, and it usually lasts only a short while before one of the deer withdraws, Pennsylvania State University experts say.

This isn’t the first death from sparring in Kansas this year. In October, two deer died with their antlers interlocked apparently after sparring in Rice County, about 80 miles northwest of Wichita.

This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Sparring bucks gets stuck together by antlers, photos show. Then a Kansas man steps in."