5-year-old Colorado Springs boy attacked by a deer, animal put down

This deer attacked a 5-year-old boy who was playing with his father on the trampoline in the...
This deer attacked a 5-year-old boy who was playing with his father on the trampoline in the backyard of their Colorado Springs home on Thursday, June 4, 2020. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials believe the deer was illegally fed and became habituated to people, losing its natural fear of humans. CPW officers euthanized the deer. (KKTV)
Published: Jun. 4, 2020 at 8:51 PM MDT
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A painful reminder to never feed wildlife is being shared by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

The wildlife agency is reporting a 5-year-old boy was attacked by a deer while playing with his dad in their Colorado Springs yard. Wildlife officers believe the animal was illegally fed and became habituated by people, losing its fear of humans.

The attack happened on Thursday. The family said the deer visited their yard often, usually resting under their trampoline. That afternoon, the father and son were playing on the trampoline. The son reportedly got off to go get a ball when the deer approached him, smelled him, and then hit the boy on his shoulder with its hoof. Thankfully, the child was not seriously injured.

The deer was still in the yard, eating grass and shrubs when CPW officers arrived. It approached them, too.

Frank McGee, CPW area wildlife manager for the Pikes Peak region, believes the aggressive behavior displayed by the deer, a healthy buck, is evidence it had been fed by humans and become habituated to people.

“It showed no fear of the boy and his father,” McGee said. “And when our officers responded to the scene, it approached within a few feet of them. This tells me the deer was very comfortable around people. Dangerously comfortable. It viewed humans as a source of food.”

CPW was forced to euthanize the animal.