The young deer with a plastic bucket stuck on its head Saturday near Yucca and 45th Street. Photo by Amanda Smith
A volunteers holds the plastic bucket that had prevented the deer from eating and drinking. Photo by Amanda Smith
Volunteers caring for the tranquilized deer after the plastic bucket was removed from its head. Photo by Amanda Smith
Staff Report
Local resident Amanda Smith told the Los Alamos Daily Post that a concerned neighbor in the vicinity of Yucca and 45th street had posted a message on Facebook Saturday asking people to keep any eye out for a young deer with its head stuck in a plastic food container. It could not eat or drink.
“One neighbor I spoke to said he believed the deer had been in this situation for a number of days already,” Smith said.
Several neighbors in the area tracked the yearling and its family for more than four hours Saturday, from their neighborhood, up LA Mountain, over to the top of Mitchell Trail, and then back to the neighborhood where it seems to hang out.
By about 2 p.m., Dr. Kathleen Ramsay of of Cottonwood Veterinary Clinic in Española, Conservation Officer Ariel Perraglio of New Mexico Game and Fish, and several volunteers were able to respond to tranquilize the deer, remove the bucket, treat the animal for dehydration, and then place him in a safe condition where he will hopefully recover, Smith said.
“In addition to being a cruel and life-threatening situation for the deer, this event also required many hours of service from the professionals, volunteers and neighbors who responded,” Smith said. “Dr. Ramsay and Officer Perraglio would like to remind the community that this circumstance could have been prevented. Feeding wildlife habituates them to browsing in non-natural habitats and to looking for food in containers that could be dangerous like this. Additionally, it attracts game animals away from their natural habitat and into urban areas where they can become a nuisance and serve as an attractant to predators such as bears and mountain lions, which then present a hazard to us.”
Causing a nuisance game animal problem by feeding them or otherwise attracting them is a misdemeanor under New Mexico Administrative Code R. § 19.30.2.8.D. “Causing a nuisance game animal problem: It shall be unlawful for any person, by their action or lack of action, whether intentionally or through negligence, to cause a nuisance game animal or depredation problem by baiting, feeding, or otherwise enticing game animals to an area, and such persons, if convicted, may be punished under 17-2-10 NMSA 1978. The department shall not be required to offer or provide interventions to depredation complaints caused by landowner, lessee, or employee of either violating this prohibition.”
“Persons found to be feeding wild animals are creating a hazardous situation for those animals as well as for their neighbors, and will be cited,” Smith said. “I hope that this information can be communicated to Los Alamos so that we can help prevent situations like this in the future.”
The tranquilized deer after the plastic bucket was removed from its head. Photo by Amanda Smith
From left, Tyrone Horak, Dr. Kathleen Ramsey of Cottonwood Veterinary Clinic in Española, NMG&F Conservation Officer Ariel Perraglio and a volunteer administer an IV to help re-hydrate the deer before it was moved to a safe arroyo for recovery. Photo by Amanda Smith
Volunteers transport the tranquilized deer. Photo by Amanda Smith
The heroes who saved the deer include Dr. Kathleen Ramsay, third from left, of Cottonwood Veterinary Clinic in Española, NMG&F Conservation Officer Ariel Perraglio and several local residents. Photo by Amanda Smith