If you love hunting deers, you probably heard about or experienced “deer drive,” a very old hunting technique. The purpose is to take one group of people and move the deer from where they are hiding and into the direction of a hunter’s position.
The deer drive aims at making the deer move efficiently. If the organization of the hunt is not conducted efficiently with a well-organized strategy and a good knowledge of the terrain by the group of hunters, the hunt may become more dangerous.
This is what happened in mid-December 2021 to Leszek Kaminiski, a Polish hunter who has been badly injured in the head and left eye by a red stag (deer) who ran out of the bushes and charged straight ahead to him in a matter of seconds striking him in the face.
“A young red stag was going out of the drive. At the last moment, he saw me. He decided that his best option was to attack me. So he did.” Leszek said to ViralHog.
While the video posted by Leszek did not show his face, several pictures posted in his Instagram account show how brutal the red stag attack was on him.
One of the red stag antler spikes gored his eye, impacting slightly his brain.
“The stag turned in my direction and hit my head with his antlers. I didn’t pass out, but I was struggling to get up for 10 minutes with blood coming out from the left eye area.” Leszek told ViralHog.
As the attack happened unexpectedly in a split second, Leszek didn’t have the time to properly anticipate the attack but was able to take at least a small step to the left that may have saved his life.
The local Polish regulations are strict about red deer hunting so Leszek couldn’t shoot the red stag and his only option was to dodge the animal.
Right after the attack, Leszek was taken to a local hospital to be taken care of where he had two surgeries needing a full month of recovery. Though the injury was brutal, he was fortunate to avoid a long-term eye disfunction.
The moral of the story: though the deer drive can be a traditional thing that happens every year, they are nevertheless, not without danger and everyone should stay vigilant when around them.