A pet deer killed a man and badly injured his wife in Australia, police said on Wednesday (local time), the first known attack in years though it occurred during mating season when the animals are bad tempered. The animal, a cross between an elk and deer, attacked shortly after the man entered the enclosure on his property near the town of Wangaratta, 200 km northeast of Melbourne in Victoria state. The deer badly injured his wife when she came to her husband's aid, police said. Deer were introduced to Australia in the 19th century and are regarded as a pest, with up to one million wild deer in Victoria state, according to government estimates. Voss said deer usually run away when humans approach, but this deer "had nowhere to run so he just attacked instead."

Source: Otago Daily Times April 17, 2019 07:18 UTC