A northern Minnesota deer hunter got the surprise of his hunting life this week when he shot dead what looked like a nice whitetail buck -- only to discover that what he bagged was an exotic deer native to India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
The hunter, whom the DNR declined to name, was perplexed when he got a close look at his quarry. The deer was a "spike buck" and was about 60 percent white, with areas of brown in the middle and spots along its sides.
It turns out that the beast is what is commonly known as an "axis deer," also known as a "chital" or "cheetal." It is the most common kind of deer in the forests of India and Pakistan.
So how did this exotic critter end up in the woods of northern Minnesota? DNR Conservation officer Stuart Benson said it most likely escaped from a local game farm.
Benson called the axis deer "spooky," saying it had 6- to 7-inch spikes that splayed out at a 40-degree angle.
The hunter violated no hunting regulations by shooting the deer, although he was not allowed to tag it an keep it. He notified the DNR after he shot the deer and couldn't figure out just what kind of deer it was.
The deer, which had a metal tag in its ear, will be tested for diseases at a DNR lab, Benson said.
There are wild axis deer in some parts of the United States because they have been introduced in some areas, and they are sometimes hunted by sportsmen. The axis deer has the leanest meat of all deer -- it is an incredible 99.8 percent fat free.
The super lean axis deer meat is said to taste like "good beef" -- although one northern Minnesota hunter will never find out. The steaks from his kill will spend more time in a lab under a DNR microscope than on any dinner plate.
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