After enduring weeks of stress with a plastic ring around her neck, a doe in the Southwest region of Colorado is finally free, according to local news.
The mystery of how a plastic bucket lid became lodged around the deer’s neck may never be solved. However, the vigilance and care of the Pagosa and Aspen Springs communities, who first reported the doe’s unusual “necklace” in mid-August, played a crucial role in her eventual rescue.
“It was only thanks to the Pagosa/Aspen Springs community for keeping an eye out and for the multiple folks who care deeply about our wildlife making reports that we were able to track this deer down,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife Southwest Region wrote on X.
Amidst the search efforts of numerous Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) officers, it was Wildlife Manager Cody Rarick who finally found the deer. After calming her with a sedative, he carefully removed the plastic while the doe’s fawns watched. After it was off, the mother doe was given a drug to reverse the sedative’s effects. Once she awoke, the family ran off, free at last.
When plastic is stuck around an animal’s neck, it may make eating challenging — like an elk that the CPW found with a chair twisted around her neck during earlier this summer. Plastic lodged around an animal’s neck can also make wildlife more visible to predators. Fortunately, this doe was unharmed by the plastic.
Litter is harmful to wildlife in many ways — especially plastic. Besides the risk of getting entangled, like this deer, many animals may confuse plastic for food. Eating it can cause issues — including choking to death.
Lady Freethinker commends the Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers who worked to find and free this mother doe — and all the residents in the area who diligently reported sightings of the doe so she could finally be helped.
