Mule deer carries 8-pound hammock in antlers for days in Colorado. See him finally free
A mule deer buck carried a heavy hammock tangled in his antlers for days in Colorado, and it ended up costing him his rack altogether, wildlife officials said.
Photos show the hammock looking almost like a web between the buck’s tines, with straps and metal poles trailing from the sides.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials tracked the buck around Durango for hours on Thursday, Oct. 19 after they had gotten a few reports from concerned residents, according to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. They hadn’t had success getting eyes on the buck until Thursday afternoon, the post says.
Wildlife officers tranquilized the large buck and tried to untangle and cut the hammock away from its antlers — to no avail, officials said. When that didn’t work, the officers decided to remove the antlers “in the best interest of the stressed deer.”
The officers tagged its ears to signal it had been tranquilized and gave it a drug to reverse the effects of the tranquilizer, officials said. Photos show the buck getting back on its feet, suddenly free of the 8-pound hammock — and its antlers.
“While this buck won’t be sparring this fall during the rut, it also won’t get tangled in any more holiday decorations or recreational/garden equipment,” officials said. “And it’s now free of obstructions that could have prevented it from eating.”
Officials urged property owners to take a few minutes over the weekend scoping out their property for potential tangle hazards for antlered wildlife — the same way officials had already done earlier in the week.
“Remember earlier this week when we put out a bunch of messaging asking the public to remove potential tangle hazards for antlered wildlife?” officials said.
This story was originally published October 20, 2023 at 4:09 PM with the headline "Mule deer carries 8-pound hammock in antlers for days in Colorado. See him finally free."
