You May Have Seen Lots Of Deer Before But Probably None Like This

Living in Western New York, we get to see a lot of deer (sometimes even when you DON'T want to see them). But you've probably never seen one like this...

Be aware, there is a pretty graphic photo ahead.

People in a Tennessee suburb were surprised to see a deer wandering around that seemed to be disoriented. It seemed to have no fear of people and was bleeding.

It happened in a town called Farragut which is a suburb of Knoxville.

The residents that saw the deer called local wildlife authorities. When the authorities arrived and found the deer, they feared that it might have what they call Chronic Wasting Disease or CWD. It's something that is spreading quickly among deer and elk and unfortunately creates what they call "Zombie Deer." They decided to put the deer down.

What they found was that the deer was not actually suffering from Chronic Wasting Disease but was still sick. According to IFL Science, the deer had epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD). In October, the DEC was warning that EHD had been discovered in New York State and was asking hunters to be on the lookout for it here. It's been known to cause disorientation and fever. But it wasn't until after the deer had been put down though that they found something else that was incredibly strange.

The young buck had hairy eyeballs. Yup, it had hair growing out of its eyes.

It had something called "corneal dermoids" or disks of skin in place of its cornea.

“Corneal dermoids, as in the case of this deer, often contain elements of normal skin, including hair follicles, sweat glands, collagen, and fat. The masses generally are benign (noninvasive) and are congenital, likely resulting from an embryonal developmental defect,” - Dr Nicole Nemeth and Michelle Willis from the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study

This is only the second-ever sighting of a deer with corneal dermoids. The first was recorded from a hunter in Louisiana in 2007.