When a hunter took aim and shot, killing the deer in his scope, he had no idea that his kill of the day was a rare unicorn deer. The Celje, Slovenia hunter killed a deer, which amazingly looks like the mythical creature, the unicorn, according to Guns.com on Nov. 14.
Bostjan Pokorny, a scientist who authenticated the deer after the hunter shot it, said that he’s never seen anything like this creature before. There are plenty of documented cases of a one antler deer, which is common in nature and called a “spike,” but this was different. The two antlers grew together as one. In other cases seen, the one antler is there looking like a spike after the deer suffered some type of injury and lost the other antler.
National Geographic reports that a “real-life unicorn is found.” It also reports that this deer has an “extremely rare deformity.” The roe deer’s antlers grew together to form the spike, where other cases usually entail a deer losing one of its antlers to injury. A roe deer, which is the most abundant of deer in Slovenia, is what this unicorn-looking creature really is.
According to KRMG News today, Pokorny told National Geographic that when the animal was examined, it was found to have a spike in the middle of its forehead. Unlike the deer that have been seen in the past, this animal’s pedicles, which should be separated, grew together creating this unicorn-like appearance. He called this an “untypical” and “very unusual” buck.
The researchers who examined the animal with Pokorny found the creature to be “quite old and a little pudgy.” They surmise that the one spike didn’t slow him down in life, as he’s lived a long time and has found plenty to eat.
KULR 8.com reports on a similar deer shot and killed by a woman in Spokane, Washington last month. This was the first buck Amy Calkins ever shot, but as she came closer to her kill she was shocked. This buck was actually a doe, with one large horn protruding out of the center of its head.
Apparently Amy did some research on the subject herself and found while this one horned deer is rare, it is caused by a hormone imbalance. Because the deer was a doe, this worried Amy, who compiled many pictures of the creature in case she would need to show proof that she thought it was a male when it really was a female of the species.
