Not something you encounter everyday. I realize some may not like this, but oh well, you cannot please everyone.
TIPPECANOE, Ind. - A pair of deer died in a northern Indiana pond after their antlers were locked during combat. Later this year, if all goes well, their intertwined antlers will be on display at Potawatomi Wildlife Park in southern Marshall County.
Bill and Peggy Maki of Fort Wayne found the two 12-point bucks Feb. 11 during a walk in some woods on property belonging to Wayne Bessinger, a member of the wildlife park's board.
The deer hadn't been dead long when they were found, The Rochester Sentinel reported in a story Thursday. "They broke through the ice," Bessinger said of the bucks. "Their horns was locked and they stumbled down to the pond and the ice broke through and they drowned."
Bessinger ignored the cold and waded into the pond about 30 miles south of South Bend to retrieve the bodies. "When I pulled them up on shore, I couldn't believe it," he said.
The antlers would have to be cut or broken to be separated. Bessinger is having them mounted in their fighting posture and plans to exhibit them at the wildlife park. He estimates the display, which should be ready by late summer, will cost about $6,000.
