Trans Scientist in Critical Condition After Animal Attack

A Cambridge University academic is in critical condition after being attacked by a giant male deer while vacationing in the Scottish Highlands. Kate Stone, who has a PhD in physics and microelectronics, is the founder of Novalia, a tech company in the U.K., as well as working as a research engineer at the University of Cambridge's Institute of Manufacturing.

According to the Telegraph, the 44-year-old Stone was with a group of friends outside a home in Lochailort, a hamlet in Scotland, when they appeared to corner a buck in the garden. In an effort to escape the panicked animal attacked Stone (possibly, say some, because at 6 foot tall, Stone was the tallest of the group).

The animal's antlers pierced her throat and spinal column, and she was taken to a local hospital then flown in an emergency helicopter to Southern General Hopsital in Glasgow, because of the severity of her injuries.Doctors there told the media only that she was in "serious and stable condition,"

Gary Burton, owner of the Mo-Dhachaidh Guest House where Stone was staying, told the Press and Journal: "I understand Kate is critical in the hospital's intensive care unit.She was telling me she enjoyed the outdoors in the hills and camping on her own in remote places so any form of paralysis to such an active person will be a disaster. The incident is absolutely shocking and so unexpected. There are plenty of deer around here but you never hear of a stag attacking anyone. The force of the attack must have been ferocious. I went to the scene and found Kate's mobile phone smashed into tiny bits."

An official from Scotland's version of Fish and Game told the Telegraph that this type of deer attack is "highly unusual - a chance in a million."