BC, Canada — Hunting season is officially underway throughout North America, and hunters across the continent are on the prowl for their next trophy buck.
Brock Ross Macdonald out of British Columbia already has a story to remember this season after bagging a bull elk on Tuesday. It was standing strong on only three legs, which meant more to Macdonald than most.
“Leg was 100% healed up,” he said on Facebook. “Clean off at the joint. Real random ’cause I am missing a leg as well.”
Macdonald was working on an oil drilling rig when he lost his leg. He told 5 On Your Side that he was working on a derrick, or a rig’s lifting device, when his leg got caught in a chain and ripped from his body after being lifted 25 feet in the air.
He now enjoys life, including hunting, with a prosthetic leg. Even though it’s unclear how the elk lost his leg, Macdonald couldn’t help but feel a connection.
“Congratulations on the most unique bull I’ve seen to date!” one commenter said.
Adjusting to life while missing a leg can be a difficult process for humans. Animals that normally have four legs, however, often see losing a leg as little more than an inconvenience, according to National Geographic.
Quadrupeds can reportedly keep their balance by taking a tripod stance by positioning the unpaired leg closer toward the center of their body, and can transport themselves adequately within hours of losing the leg.
“In general, animals are really quick to adapt to a change like that,” Rebecca McCloskey, carnivore curator at the Denver Zoo, told the magazine in 2018. “Assuming the rest of their system is healthy, recovery happens quicker than you would think.”
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