What do you guys make of this?

[TOGIE]

This doe was spotted in my in-laws neighborhood. Lots of deer in their neighborhood, even occasional antelope. It's like a giant neighborhood with 5-7 acre lots in the middle of a growing suburbia, it's a little deer haven.

Anyway, what's the deal with this doe? CWD? CWD and an injury? Just an injury? It looks like a perfectly amputated front leg. Hit by a car? I can't help but see CWD in this deer, but the lack of a front right leg is an oddity.

When we stopped the truck to look at it, it kinda "looked" at us, but you could tell it probably couldn't see well, it was more as if it was looking "through us", past us, if you will. Looking at us but not really able to see us. And it just stood there chewing. Very odd.

That droopy ear though. I've meant to report it to CPW and it just slipped my mind. This was like week ago or something. It's probably dead by now.

There's very coincidentally a rooftop pinnacle ornament thing in that first picture that muffles the lack of leg, note second picture.

 

[Hunt&FishCO]

I would guess it was hit by a car. It looks healthy overall (body size). Very weird to see the leg missing.

 

[MLC]

This doe was spotted in my in-laws neighborhood. Lots of deer in their neighborhood, even occasional antelope. It's like a giant neighborhood with 5-7 acre lots in the middle of a growing suburbia, it's a little deer haven.

Anyway, what's the deal with this doe? CWD? CWD and an injury? Just an injury? It looks like a perfectly amputated front leg. Hit by a car? I can't help but see CWD in this deer, but the lack of a front right leg is an oddity.

When we stopped the truck to look at it, it kinda "looked" at us, but you could tell it probably couldn't see well, it was more as if it was looking "through us", past us, if you will. Looking at us but not really able to see us. And it just stood there chewing. Very odd.

That droopy ear though. I've meant to report it to CPW and it just slipped my mind. This was like week ago or something. It's probably dead by now.

There's very coincidentally a rooftop pinnacle ornament thing in that first picture that muffles the lack of leg, note second picture.

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My first guess was car accident but the leg is really strange. Too bad you didn’t get a look at the other shoulder.

 

[kwyeewyk]

I'm guessing that leg's been gone awhile, looks healed and the left leg/shoulder looks pretty muscular and humped up.

 

[TOGIE]

those are all good observations. i didn't notice how the left leg/shoulder appears so pumped up and it does have a healthy looking body size

i think in person i was just so focused on how derpy it was acting and how unhealthy it's coat looked (which isn't as apparent in the picture) i was immediately drawn to disease.

such a cleanly lost leg it seems though, still a puzzle. vehicle collision seems the only logical conclusion

 

[SaskHunter]

That deer probably has a heck of a story with the missing leg and messed up head. Probably got hit by a car.

I found a mule deer fawn this fall on the side of a busy road, 2 feet away from pavement tucked into the foot of a tree. It was blind and had both ears drooping. Called the cops who euthanized it, poor little thing.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

Are you in a farming area? Could have lost the leg to a mower as a fawn.

 

[TOGIE]

Are you in a farming area? Could have lost the leg to a mower as a fawn.

no, it's truly a soccer mom deer. large rapidly growing suburban interface - high density upper middle class housing that's encroaching upon upper class low density housing all slowly encroaching on ranch land rather than farmland.

I bet this doe grew up in this neighborhood and got hit by some sophomore in high school who drives a lexus or volvo

i kid you not, driving back to our place that very same day in this same town we saw a dead 4 point buck on the side of a mega busy road next to like a dunkin donuts across the street from a kroger and surrounded by nothing but condo complexes and single family homes. the nearest not concrete piece of land was probably almost 1.5 mile away....

to me it just speaks to what colorado is all about. i felt sad that day

 

[LCH]

Is legs falling off a new symptom of CWD? Lol couldn't resist.

It actually looks pretty healthy to me in the photos. I've seen a few 3 legged whitetails do just fine, raise fawns, etc.

 

[BuzzH]

Just from looking at the face, I don't think its a doe...

Could you tell if it was a buck that had shed?

 

[TOGIE]

Just from looking at the face, I don't think its a doe...

Could you tell if it was a buck that had shed?

I couldn’t tell, tough angle to see pedicles clearly. At least that’s my recollection. I may have just been too distracted by the oddities to actually look and now that’s what I’m telling myself

but, you saying that... it is kinda a big bodied deer now that I think about it

 

[Crillyiv]

Whatever caused the loss of the leg might've also caused a TBI (traumatic brain injury).

 

[Gellar]

My father in law has a 3 legged doe whitetail who lives at his silage bunks in the winter. She literally lays their all day. When the skid loader comes to the bunk to get feed she moves about 5 feet and stairs at you the the whole time like wtf? She has been around for the last 3 winters but we never see her in the summer.

 

[madtom]

Agree it looks like a shed buck and potentially old enough to have voted in this election. May or may not be a CWD deer, definitely looks very old and haggered.

 

[Hunting Wife]

Missing front legs always make me question gunshot injuries. Surprisingly common to see front legs broken and/or lost by gunshots when the shooter misjudges the range. I have seen it in antelope, deer and elk.

Not sure about the droopy ear. Could be a fighting injury (agree it looks like a buck). Hard to say. Body condition actually looks pretty decent to me for winter though.

 

[Nick87]

Just from looking at the face, I don't think its a doe...

Could you tell if it was a buck that had shed?

Agreed, doesn't look like a doe.

 

[TOGIE]

Missing front legs always make me question gunshot injuries. Surprisingly common to see front legs broken and/or lost by gunshots when the shooter misjudges the range. I have seen it in antelope, deer and elk.

Not sure about the droopy ear. Could be a fighting injury (agree it looks like a buck). Hard to say. Body condition actually looks pretty decent to me for winter though.

never thought of that potential for the leg. But that’s largely because for all intents and purposes this is a municipal yard buck at the farthest reaches of the Denver metro area. Nearest legal place to discharge a firearm including bows, let alone legally hunt, is probably pushing 10 miles away.

I’ve always viewed these deer as resident to these large acred lot neighborhoods, but it could’ve done serious traveling I’m sure

 

[F250]

We had a 3 legged doe showing up in our food plots for several years. Two years she had single fawns.

 

[Hunting Wife]

never thought of that potential for the leg. But that’s largely because for all intents and purposes this is a municipal yard buck at the farthest reaches of the Denver metro area. Nearest legal place to discharge a firearm including bows, let alone legally hunt, is probably pushing 10 miles away.

I’ve always viewed these deer as resident to these large acred lot neighborhoods, but it could’ve done serious traveling I’m sure

They can certainly do some serious traveling, especially the bucks when looking for does. He may not have originally come from there. Could have ended up there because the living is easy in his current condition. Sounds like a nice place for an injured deer to retire.