'Unicorn' Deer Killed - Every once in a while a unique species appears. In this opportunity, a deer that was the closest to resembling a unicorn got hunted in Slovenia.
The hunt took place in Celje, Slovenia back in August. The deer had an abnormal deformity in its antler, which made both antlers form into one. Apparently, a cause for this could have been an injury suffered by the animal in its early development.
"In this species, only males grow antlers, which are bilateral and usually symmetrical bone structures that appear from two antler pedicles, i.e. extensions of the skull,"Pokorny, assistant director of the ecological research institute ERICo Velenje, said in an email to National Geographic.
Pokorny then cleared out that in this extremely rare case, the deer grew both pedicles, which would be separated, together in one single pedicle. He added that he'd never seen anything like it in any sort of way.
The roe deer is carefully managed in Slovenia and there are guidelines set on how many of these creatures can be hunted per year.
The hunter who went after this "unicorn" deer chose it because it had an advanced age. He assumed this due to the single antler.
Apparently, as deer grows older, it becomes likely that it'll lose an antler. This can happen in various ways. But once there is one antler left, it's referred to as a "spike."
The hunter believed he was going after a spiked deer and not one who was naturally that way, or a "unicorn" deer, as we've previously referred to it.
According to KRMG, a similar deer got hunted before in the US and the Mississippi State University studied the case. At the time, they "found it difficult to identify the particular cause of a particular buck's (or doe's) abnormality without a detailed dissection."
Another "unicorn" deer appeared in Italy six years ago, it seems. Recently, a fanged deer was seen in Afghanistan, too.
