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Shawn Luchtel was walking behind his house in west-central Missouri on Tuesday when he spotted a fawn. The deer was tucked into a dry creek bed and, like most young fawns, it stayed put instead of fleeing. That gave Luchtel a chance to really look at it, and that\u2019s when he noticed all the ticks covering its swollen right eye.<\/p>\n
He snapped a photo that shows a handful of fully-engorged ticks feeding on the right side of the fawn\u2019s skull. The tissue around its eye is swollen and necrotic, with holes in the skin that even contain what look grubs, but may be more ticks. It was difficult for him to assess the extent of the damaged tissue, however, because the fawn wouldn\u2019t turn its head.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was almost like it was predominantly wanting to keep its good eye directed toward me, since it couldn\u2019t see out of the other eye,\u201d says Luchtel, who co-owns Heartland Bowhunter<\/a>. He mentioned that his neighbor had seen what was presumably the same deer \u2014 a fawn with its right eye swollen shut \u2014 a few days before. Another neighbor down the road sent Luchtel videos (below) of another fawn; both its eyes were swollen with ticks.<\/p>\n