If you’ve never seen a wild deer before, you might think of them a strange and exotic creatures, which is not wrong. All you have to do is be in the right location at the right time to see them. Residents of New Jersey will tell you that seeing wild deer strolling into your yard or grazing the roadside is typical, especially when the weather warms up.
However, for one Colts Neck resident, the season’s biggest surprise came when he witnessed an animal unlike any he’d ever seen before. The animal had a fuzzy brown body and spindly small legs in the dark, but its head was completely spherical, like a bubble or an astronaut helmet. What could it possibly be?
Not only was his head stuck, leaving him unable to eat or drink, but to make matters worse, his herd had moved on without him from their grazing location. “Certain species will consider members as outcasts if they look unusual or are damaged so as not to encourage predators or disturb the integrity of the herd,” the Monmouth County SPCA (MCSPCA) noted in a press statement.
This indicated that the deer’s time was running out if his rescuer didn’t act quickly. The MCSPCA and the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife responded quickly after the resident contacted for help.
The rescue crew went to work after anesthetized the deer. “The glass bowl was removed, which proved out to be a light fixture cover, which was likely filled with water the deer attempted to drink,” the MCSPCA posted on Facebook. “The buck was dehydrated after four days without food and water, and he had a few of scrapes from the poor visibility, but when we cleaned him up and the sedation had worn off, he was able to get up and go away.”
While the deer’s future seemed brighter when the bowl was removed, it wasn’t all sunshine after that. Later that day, when the deer had lain down and had problems breathing, and was too weak to find his herd, a worried witness phoned the MCSPCA again.
Deann Bowen, an MCSPCA veterinary technician, went to the buck’s help. He administered fluids, which appeared to be exactly what was required.
“By the way he looked, we could tell he was totally dehydrated,” Bowen added. “His head perked straight up once we gave him the water, and his respiration returned to normal within a few minutes.”
The Monmouth County SPCA has been informed that there is no longer a lone deer feeding, thus it is gladly believed that he has rejoined his herd, according to the news release.
