An escaping deer turned the tables on this hunter when it tore a huge flap of skin from his face when it collided with him while trying to escape.
Vincent Saubion, 36, was struck in the face by a 150-kilogramme (330-lb) deer in a forest in Lesperon in the south-western French department of the Landes while he was hunting.
Saubion, who is of Basque origin, told local media: “The deer hit me in the face as it tried to carry on.”
He said he was losing a lot of blood from the injury, but despite the horrific wound had wanted bizarrely to continue the hunting day with pals.
Saubion said: “It felt like I was drunk, but it actually took half my face off.”
A fellow hunter told him that he should stop and then called over a firefighter who was part of the group to give him first aid.
In the end, a helicopter had to fly to the forested region to airlift him to the Pellegrin Hospital in Bordeaux where he underwent emergency surgery, according to local media.
Reports said that Saubion required about 50 stitches to his face.
He told local media: “I am grateful because there was more fear than actual harm. I haven’t broken anything and I feel as good as I can be.”
Despite the incident, which took place in January but which has only been made public now, Saubion has vowed to keep on hunting.
He said: “I am still crazy about hunting. I am very involved in the community, and have nothing but respect for the game and the owners who let us hunt on their grounds.”
It is unclear if the deer that injured him was shot or not.
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Story By: Ernest Bio Bogore, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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