Two Headed Deer Hoax

This white-tailed deer hunting season has really been one for the record books, and not just in Texas. Not only have the true-to-life hunting stories been amazing this year, but now it seems whitetail hunters around the Lone Star State are processing the story of a two-headed deer being shot near Rock Springs, Texas. The website reporting the rare harvest has come up with some pretty amazing stories in the past, but this one is luring in the hunters like a a young buck to a doe in heat.

For those of you that have yet to hear about the alleged two headed deer hoax, the photo may blurry, but the story is at least an entertaining one. In fact, I’m kind of surprised this story did not take place in Louisiana because it definitely has the makings of a Thibodeaux and Boudreaux joke. Only in this one it’s Bill and Steve Jr. out at their West Texas deer lease. Continue reading “Two Headed Deer Hoax”

Chronic Wasting Disease Monitoring Continues

State wildlife departments across the United States have continued with their annual Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) monitoring in wild deer populations. Although numerous research studies are underway, there is currently no vaccine or other biological method of preventing CWD in a free-ranging deer herd. The only tool wildlife biologists and hunters have is to prevent the spread of CWD to new areas, because once an infected prion is deposited into the environment through either an infected carcass or from a live deer, it can remain viable for a decade or more!

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) wildlife biologists and technicians have continued their annual testing of tissue samples (brain stems) from hunter-harvested and road-killed white-tailed deer during the 2008-09 hunting season. To date, Texas has had no documented case of CWD within the State. Many of the samples collected over the hunting season are being prepared for analysis at the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

Map of known CWD locations

Although CWD has yet to be found in Texas, three hunter-harvested white-tailed deer in Kansas have tested positive for CWD in recent weeks according to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP). In the past few years, numerous cases of CWD have been documented in other states located in the central part of the U.S., including Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming.

CWD is a progressive and fatal disease that results in small holes developing in the brain, giving it a sponge-like appearance under a microscope. Decreased brain function causes white-tailed deer, mule deer, and elk to display neurological symptoms such as depression, a droopy head, staggering, loss of appetite, and a lack of response to human disturbance. The continuing deterioration of the brain leads to other symptoms such as weight loss, drooling, and excessive thirst. If hunting in an area where CWD is known to exist, caution is advised. With that said, no human health risks have been discovered where CWD occurs.

The symptoms of CWD in deer include loss of body weight, stumbling, holding the head at an odd angle, circling, non-responsiveness to people, and pneumonia. Hunters can help protect the health of their local deer herd by taking the following steps to avoid accidentally transmitting CWD to new areas. First, do not transport deer carcasses far from the area where the deer lived, especially from areas where CWD has been detected. Secondly, if a deer carcass is transported, the hunter should make sure that carcass waste is not dumped in a location where other deer can come into contact with it. Carcass waste can also be disposed of by bagging and taking it to a landfill.

Piebald Buck is From East Texas

Remember the piebald buck that was reportedly harvested in East Texas. Well, the uniquely-colored buck was harvested near Palestine, but it was actually shot this year as opposed to last year, as my original research found. Photos of the deer have hit the deer hunting web and the stories of where this deer was harvested are as numerous as the buck’s spots! In order to clear things up about this news-making buck, here is rest of the story:

“My husband (James Curtis) is the one who killed the piebald buck in East Texas that has created quite a bit of interest on the Internet. I just wanted to give you the facts so that you can update your website. You can actually see the buck on the Texas Big Game Awards website, as well as on their TropyWatch.

Piebald buck harvested near Palestine, Texas, in November 2008

The deer was actually killed November 2, 2008, on a privately owned ranch outside of Palestine, Texas. The piebald deer scored 138 5/8 gross with a total body weight of 195 pounds. My husband is getting the deer full body mounted. Anyways, I just wanted to give you this information since there are lots of emails going around saying the deer was harvested in Michigan, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Georgia just to name a few. One email even says that the deer was sold to Cabelas for $13,000! It is crazy.”

Piebald buck harvested near Palestine, Texas, in November 2008

Piebald Buck Harvested in East Texas

The majority of white-tailed deer have brown and white hair, but piebald deer are beautiful animals possessing white and brown fur in random patterns similar to that of a paint horse. I know of very few piebald deer that have been harvested in Texas, but the photos seen here are making their way around the internet with claims that this big piebald buck was shot somewhere in east Texas. The location varies between Corsicana and Palestine.

Was this piebald buck harvested in Texas?

Although both of the claims could have been false, I knew this abnormally colored buck was not harvested in Corsicana simply because there are no pine stands within 50 miles of the town, maybe more. Palestine, on the other hand, has pine forests and plenty of them. After a little more research, I discovered that this piebald trophy was actually harvested the first weekend of the General Season, but it was in fact taken near Palestine. The big-bodied deer was right at 200 pounds on the hoof — and is definitely a unique buck!

Was this piebald buck harvested in Texas?Was this piebald buck harvested in Texas?

Find a Hunting Lease in Texas

If you hunt deer then you are always looking for a new place to hang a stand, a new place to setup a trail camera and see what happens.

If you are looking to find a place to hunt white-tailed deer in Texas, then this may be just what you are looking for! The following places are provided as sources of hunting leases and offer hunting for white-tailed bucks, management buck hunts, doe hunts, turkey, and some even hogs and migratory bird hunting.

Find a hunting lease

Check ’em out!

Hunting Lease
Lease Hunter
Texas Hunting Lease
Deer Texas
High Tech Redneck
Texas Lease Connection
Hunter’s Domain
Wild Goose
Magnum Guide Service
Warner Hunting Leases
Texas Outdoorsman