Deer attacks 70-year-old woman in yard, sending her to hospital, NC officials say
.png "It’s mating season for white tailed deer in North Carolina, which may explain why a buck became aggressive and attacked a woman at her mailbox in Wilkes County, NC, officials say. This is not the same buck.")
A woman trying to scare a deer away saw the tables turned when it became defiant and brutally attacked her, North Carolina wildlife officials say.
It happened around 6:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, on Tabernacle Road in the Mulberry area, and the 70-year-old ended up in a hospital, according to Dion Burleson, Wilkes Emergency Medical Services logistics/planning section coordinator.
She was treated for what amounted to antler punctures to her chest and legs, officials said.
The woman was preparing to take her dog out that morning when she saw a buck at her mailbox, about 50 feet away, and tried to scare it away.
However, instead of being frightened, the deer “knocked the woman down, pushed her around with its antlers and at one point had her pinned down,” the Wilkes Journal-Patriot reports.
“The woman fought off the deer, including by gripping its antlers, while moving back toward her house,” the newspaper said.
Her injuries were not life-threatening, officials said.
As for the buck, it got away.
The incident is the second white-tailed deer attack this month in Wilkes County, which is unusual, said Burleson, who has been with the department seven years. In the other case, the victim was taken by private vehicle to a medical facility, so details are largely unknown, he said.
It’s likely the aggressive behavior has to do with the deer mating season in North Carolina, when bucks tend to act “like a bunch of guys in high school,” Burleson said. The season begins in October and peaks in early December in the mountains, the state says.
However, the attacks might also be the result of deer losing their fear of humans, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission says. This happens when they are fed by humans, or they are illegally raised by humans and released as adults in the wild, according to state wildlife biologist Jason Smith.
“If that is the case, that deer are not scared of people and if their hormones are elevated, running at them could trigger an attack,” Smith said.
White-tailed bucks can stand 3 feet at the shoulder and weigh up to 200 pounds , the state says.
Mulberry is about an 85-mile drive northwest from Charlotte.
This story was originally published November 10, 2025 at 2:58 PM with the headline "Deer attacks 70-year-old woman in yard, sending her to hospital, NC officials say."