RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS -- A desperate struggle unfolds.
These two South Texas bucks have been fighting, and their antlers have become locked together.
One appears limp and is probably dead, while the other frantically slings the lifeless body like a rag doll attempting to break free.
During the winter rut, bucks will clash antlers as they fight for dominance.
Normally, the bouts last mere seconds before one is routed.
However, some fights continue for several minutes and in rare cases the combatant's antlers become interlocked.
It is apparent no amount of effort will separate the entangled animals, but the buck desperately tries.
After a flurry of futile tossing and twisting the bucks topple to the ground with the live one resting his muzzle on the head of his rival.
Sensing an opportunity to save at least one of the deer, Juan Hernandez, foreman on the Yturria Ranch deftly lassoes the hind legs of the buck.
While Juan restrains the exhausted animal his companion Eleazar Gonzalez attempts to separate the antlers.
Sawing them would work, but the implement is miles away at ranch headquarters.
Finally, with an audible crack, Eleazar frees the deer.
The buck rests for several minutes and then trots away.
Juan says the buck has a little headache, but he will be alright.
Whether he survives remains to be seen, but without help he surely had no chance at all.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT