broadhead Report post Posted April 26, 2021 Got a bit of a surprise when I walked into the taxidermist’s shop to pick up my euro mount today. Turns out the buck had cancer in his upper jaw to the point where it had already significantly impacted his teeth on the right side. I was already glad my shot put him down instantly, but was even happier when I learned about that. There’s no doubt he would have eventually suffered a slow, miserable end had that cancer kept growing. I had never heard about anything like that before. Anyone else ever see that? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Desertguide Report post Posted April 26, 2021 Post some pics!!! I'm curious what that looks like Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
broadhead Report post Posted April 26, 2021 Obviously no tissue left on the mount, but visible in the photo is where the tumor had been, and the impact on the jaw is pretty obvious. The other side of the jaw and the lower was perfect. The taxidermist has a guy who cleans up his skulls for him and was telling me how he described the tumor to him. From how it was described, I wouldn't be surprised if the deer was already experiencing pain. He was healthy when I shot him so I'm guessing there was no trouble eating yet but I bet it wasn't far away. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Desertguide Report post Posted April 26, 2021 Oh yeah, you can see where it was starting to eat into the bone on the forward and lower part of the pre-orbital pocket. And then the missing tooth of course. Bet you feel even better about taking him now!!! Thanks for sharing!!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CatfishKev Report post Posted April 26, 2021 Interesting. I knew animals could get cancer but always thought it had more not do with eating the processed food we give our pets. This is the first time I've heard of this on a wild animal. Is it possible it was an abscess and not cancer? Any agriculture or anything near where you were hunting? Anything unusual to take note of? 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
broadhead Report post Posted April 26, 2021 Definitely. Just took a closer look from underneath. The tumor was already growing up further into the jaw as evidenced by a very observable hole up there, and the last front tooth was already on its way to being next. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
broadhead Report post Posted April 26, 2021 18 minutes ago, CatfishKev said: Interesting. I knew animals could get cancer but always thought it had more not do with eating the processed food we give our pets. This is the first time I've heard of this on a wild animal. Is it possible it was an abscess and not cancer? Any agriculture or anything near where you were hunting? Anything unusual to take note of? From what was described to me, there was an abnormal tissue clump growing in that spot causing the deformities. I supppse without an actual biopsy of the tissue it is almost impossible to tell if the tissue was cancerous, but it was certainly some unusual growth spreading up there. Weird. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GJMauro12 Report post Posted April 26, 2021 Too much Copenhagen! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
