Stuck pumpkin threatens deer’s survival

CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A plastic jack-o’-lantern meant for collecting Halloween candy is threatening the life of a young deer that frequently visits a gated community.

The fake pumpkin has been stuck on the animal’s snout for at least six days. It appears to be snagged on the buck’s ears or horn buds. Resembling a feedbag, it has prevented the animal from eating or drinking.

Each passing day reduces the animal’s chances of surviving, experts said.

On Friday, officials from the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids and wildlife experts could not get close enough to the animal to shoot it with a tranquilizer. They planned to try again today.

After tranquilizing the deer, they hope to remove the plastic jack-o’-lantern and take the animal somewhere to recover until it can be released back into the wild.

The deer will have to be held until after the two-week hunting season – which begins Wednesday – because the anesthesia could be harmful to humans who would consume it, said Dr. Wendy Swift, veterinary medical director of the Humane Society of Kent County.

Swift said the deer might not survive being tranquilized. She said the buck appears to be moving more slowly, losing weight and in declining health. He appears to weigh about 75 pounds and was born in the spring, she said.

“The deer at this moment is debilitated and dehydrated,” Swift said.