When Solweig Williams looked out of the kitchen window of her Butchers Road home in Comox, she thought her husband was playing a joke on her.
But upon closer look, she realized her eyes were not playing a trick on her, rather, she realized one deer had a string of lights entangled on its antlers.
“I did a double-take when I saw something on his antlers … I presume some neighbour is missing a set of lights that may have been wrapped around a shrub or something like that.”
Williams noted she lives on an unfenced acreage, and many deer walk across her property daily. The deer generally come up to the house to check out plants and often come close to the windowed kitchen door and look in, but run off if she or her husband get too close.
“Hopefully the buck will be able to disentangle himself from the string of lights, but if someone spots him still sporting the lights I would suggest they call the conservation officer to help.”
RELATED: VIDEO: B.C. deer struggles with life-preserver caught in antlers
According to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, that is exactly what should be done.
A spokesperson for the service confirmed they have not received any phone calls about an entangled deer in the area, but asks residents to call the Report All Poachers and Polluters hotline (RAPP) at 1-877-952-7277 if spotted.
She said typically a conservation officer will safely capture the deer and remove the item.
While the service hasn’t received a report about the deer in Comox, they have assisted the removal of items trapped on deer twice on Vancouver Island last month.
On Sept. 13, a deer in north Nanaimo found itself caught in a hammock. A conservation officer along with a wildlife safety response officer were able to tranquilize the deer and cut it free.
Shortly after on Sept. 20, officers were able to tranquilize and capture a deer near Campbell River in order to remove a foreign object which was stuck on its hind hoof. The object was seriously hampering the animal’s mobility. Thanks to local residents, the deer’s location was closely monitored and officers were able to locate the animal.
The object which had become tightly wedged on the deer’s hoof was a hard plastic cap from a fuel jerry can.
erin.haluschak@comoxvalleyrecord.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
