BALL GROUND, Ga. -- A man was found dead after apparently being attacked by a deer.

The body of John Henry Frix, 66, was found around 8 p.m. Sunday inside the deer's pen on his property.

He had been gored several times in the upper body by a deer's antlers, Cherokee County sheriff's Sgt. Jay Baker said.

The deer was one of several Frix kept on his property.

"This particular deer had apparently been in rut, which is their breeding cycle, and they become very aggressive," said Cherokee County Sheriff's Deputy Jay Baker. "This deer had been quite aggressive the past few days, so we think that's what caused the attack on the man."

It appeared that Frix tried to fend off the deer, which was the size of a small elk, authorities said.

A family member later shot and killed the deer.

No charges have been filed and the incident has been turned over to the Department of Natural Resources for further investigation.

Deer kill about 150 people a year in the Unites States. But most of those deaths happen when deer are involved in collisions with automobiles.