Baby Deer Saved By Roadside C-Section Following Car-Deer Accident

We got a tip from a listener about a story we couldn't believe.  Here's what we were told.

An upstate New York hunter received the surprise of his life after the vehicle he was driving struck and killed a deer on Saturday night near Utica.

The uninjured driver, who asked not to be identified, said he accidentally struck the deer on September 21, 2013, with his vehicle, killing it instantly. Following the accident, the man who is an experienced sportsman, opted to butcher the animal at the scene.

"He didn't want to waste the meat," said a friend who also asked not to be identified.

The surprise came when the man discovered that what he thought was a tumor in the deer's abdominal region, was actually an unborn fawn. He performed a roadside C-Section and miraculously, the premature deer survived.

The fawn, which is smaller than an average house cat, was turned over to what rescuers say is "a qualified individual with experience in caring for orphaned fawns."  While the deer's condition is listed by the caretaker as "day to day-" it seems to be well on its way to recovery.

"He's a hunter, but he respects nature and that's what sportsmanship is all about," said the observer.

So, why stay anonymous?

Well, that's pretty simple. New York State law prohibits the consumption of road kill.

"It's amazing that the fawn survived both the violent automobile accident and the C-section," said the friend of the driver. "That's why we've named it 'Miracle.'"

Is this story too amazing to be real? We dug a little deeper around found a similar story that occurred in 2008. Here's that story from Snopes.com about a baby deer named Rupert.