Sharpshooting officer saves deer who locked antlers near Calgary

A sharpshooting fish and wildlife officer is being credited for saving two deer who locked antlers near Calgary.

Shelley Wright says her husband Russ was driving home on Tuesday when he spotted two deer struggling in a field just south of Spruce Meadows.

"It didn't look right, and the more he watched, he realized they were locked together," she said.

He called fish and wildlife, and officer Scott Kallweit responded.

Kallweit realized he couldn't tranquilize the animals, Wright said, as tranquilizing one would likely injure the other. 

So, he took out his shotgun loaded with slugs, steadied himself, and fired — hitting the antlers and safely separating the two deer.

• Watch the moment it happened, and how the deer were able to carry on.

"It was once in a lifetime. I don't think I'll probably ever see something like that again. It was so cool. It was just a good outcome," she said.

Both Shelley and Russ captured the shot on video.

Wright said the shot knocked off a piece of antler, which Kallweit tried to give to the couple. But they said they insisted he hang on to it.

"There was no way we could let him. That's the first time he's ever taken that kind of shot," she said.