Woman in fair condition after a severe deer attack

Authorities said 68-tear-old Mary Brumbaugh was severely injured in an apparent deer attack south of Grand Island. 

Nebraska Game and Parks said the woman was doing chores alone on a farm near Guide Rock on Tuesday when a mule deer buck attacked her.

“It knocked her down and just kept butting her with its horns and she was trying to defend herself as best she could,” her brother John Pope said. 

Brumbaugh is recovering at Bryan West and is in fair condition. Her injuries included a fractured back, fractured rib, multiple traumas to her legs, bruises on her face and nerve damage in her left foot.

NGP says it’s unknown exactly when the incident happened, but the Webster County Sheriff’s Office responded to the farm Tuesday evening. 

A conservation officer shot and killed the deer. He said the animal showed no fear of him.

Brumbaugh said she had seen the buck around her property before but was not sure why he attacked her Tuesday.

“Absolutely no warning from the deer at all, it just kind of came out of the blue, it was dark and it just came out of no where,” Pope said.

“This was a tragic encounter, and my sympathy is with the injured woman and her family,” said Alicia Hardin, wildlife administrator for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. “Deer attacks on people are extremely rare, and we are investigating the circumstances surrounding this incident.”

The deer was transported to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Veterinary Diagnostic Center for a necropsy, where it tested negative for rabies. Although uncommon, rabies can infect deer.

Deer attacks on humans can occur for a variety of reasons. While rutting, bucks become more aggressive. Disease, domestication, injury and protection of young also could lead to encounters with humans.

While the Commission still is investigating the circumstances of this incident, it receives several reports of individuals feeding or domesticating wildlife each year. Domestication typically occurs when animals are either raised from a young age or repeatedly exposed to humans through feeding or other nonthreatening encounters. Domestication results in wild animals losing their natural fear of humans, causing the potential for more conflicts between wildlife and humans.