A wild deer charges a hunter and rips off part of his face, leaving him with severe injuries.

An emergency response team airlifted Vincent Saubion to the hospital after a terrified 150kg (330lb) deer struck him while hunting in southwest France.

The animals' impact tore a huge flap of skin from his face, slashing underneath his left eye and down across his nose.

The 36-year-old told local media:

"The deer hit me in the face as it tried to carry on."

Despite losing a lot of blood from the huge injury, he bizarrely wanted to continue the hunting day with pals.

Saubion said:

"It felt like I was drunk, but it actually took half my face off."

But a concerned fellow hunter told him to stop. They then called over a firefighter who was part of the group to give him first aid.

However, Saubion sustained serious injuries. And a helicopter had to fly to the forested region to airlift him to the hospital. He underwent emergency surgery, leaving him with 50 stitches on his face.

Speaking to local media, he said he was grateful the injury wasn't worse.

Luckily, Saubion didn't suffer any broken bones in his face.

He explained:

"I am grateful because there was more fear than actual harm. I haven't broken anything."

Shortly afterward, the hunter told local reporters:

"I feel as good as I can be."

Despite his close encounter and shocking injury, Saubion has vowed to return to the forest to hunt again.

He said:

"I am still crazy about hunting. I am very involved in the community and have nothing but respect for the game and the owners who let us hunt on their grounds."

It's unknown whether the deer that injured him survived.

This isn't the first time a deer has attacked a hunter.

Last October, a hunter died after a deer he had just shot attacked him.

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission officials reported Thomas Alexander, 66, shot the deer with a muzzleloader while he was hunting.

But the animal charged him, leaving him severely injured in the woods. Sadly, the hunter died.

Keith Stephens, the Chief of Communications with the agency, told KY3:

"I've worked for the Game and Fish Commission for 20 years, and it's one of the stranger things that's happened."

Referring to the animal, Stephens added:

"I don't know how long he left it there, but he went up to check it to make sure it was dead. And evidently, it wasn't."