Urban Legends

One of the largest whitetail bucks I have ever seen was not running across an Iowa cornfield, or careening through a northwoods clearcut, or even languishing behind the high-fence at a petting zoo.

He was standing in the cloverleaf of a busy highway, about three miles from the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. It was a relatively high-traffic afternoon and, despite vehicles whizzing past and jets roaring overhead, this mega-buck stood as placid as a dairy cow, licking his flank. Every time the buck’s head would bob, a huge drop tine would scratch the hide along his backbone. Thankfully I wasn’t driving that day, because my rubber-necking would have certainly caused a multi-car pileup.

That incident happened several years ago, and the buck I saw is certainly dead by now. The buck in the photo above, however, is certainly not. He is alive and well and causing hunters in a certain Midwestern city to have night sweats and speak in odd tongues. This photo, supposedly shot from the back patio of a home, shows a monstrous non-typical that’s been running awhile. Note his open mouth and tongue hanging out….A sign that he is either a) looking for does or b) running from danger. Given his civilized environment, I’m guessing the former.

So how ’bout you guys? Ever seen a monster in the city? Lucky enough to have access to hunt one of these urban legends?