Post-Halloween scare: Plastic pumpkin stuck to deer's face for about two weeks

LAPORTE — An apparent remnant of Halloween ensnared a local deer in a nasty trick — a plastic pumpkin became stuck to a doe's face as she roamed the countryside just outside LaPorte.

But after people reported numerous sightings of the deer over a period of about two weeks, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources contacted a veterinarian who sedated the deer with a tranquilizer gun Friday night in the 300 block of Bordeaux Drive.

There were growing concerns about the adult-sized doe’s ability to survive because her mouth and snout were totally inside the hollow, plastic jack-o’-lantern.

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Dr. Larry Smith, who examined the deer after firing a tranquilizer into it from about 35 feet away, said the animal was a little underweight but still in “relatively good shape.”

He also said the animal did not appear dehydrated.

DNR Conservation Officer Tyler Brock said there was some water at the bottom of the orange bowl-shaped pumpkin when it was removed from the deer's head.

Brock said that leads him to believe the deer bobbed her head into nearby Pine Lake or a stream to fill the container with water.

He said water could have seeped in from the gaps between her face and the upper rim of the pumpkin for her to drink at the bottom.

He didn’t see how it would be possible for the deer to have eaten much, if anything, because the pumpkin acted like a muzzle as it covered her mouth.

After awakening a few minutes later when the effects of the tranquilizer wore off, the deer stood up on her own and scampered away.

“I’m sure it had a good meal quickly after,” Brock said.

Brock said the plastic handle on what some children use to collect Halloween candy was draped over the top of the deer’s forehead, creating just enough tension to keep the container from slipping off her face.

“The relief, the happiness, I can’t even describe,” said Gretchen Worley, who lives in the 1700 block of North Rustic Drive.

Her home is near the heavily wooded subdivision just outside the city limits where the deer was tranquilized and most often spotted.

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On most days, Worley said, she spent hours at a time searching for the deer hoping to get close enough to remove the plastic pumpkin with a four-foot-long hook pole.

She spotted the deer on several occasions and once got as close as 25 feet from the animal, but each time the doe ran off.

Worley said she also worked with a couple that made the drive from Jasper County to assist in the search with a drone.

Out of habit, Worley said, she caught herself trying to spot the animal from inside her vehicle while driving home the night after the deer was set free of the pumpkin.

“I had to tell myself that it’s over," she said. "I don’t have to be on pins and needles. I don’t have to have my binoculars glued to my eyes. I got accustomed to it.”

Brock said the deer’s ability to survive was probably helped by the fat wild animals put on this time of year to feed off when food is not as plentiful during the winter.

He also said only veterinarians in the state are licensed to tranquilize wild animals as long as a conservation officer is present.

Smith said it was getting dark when he fired the tranquilizer gun from the back yard of a home while conservation officer Alex Toth kept his flashlight on the deer, which was inside a wooded area.

Smith said the orange pumpkin shining in the light above the shoulders and neck of the deer helped provide him with a target through the slight clearing between the trees.

“Luckily, I was able to take a shot and hit it on the first shot,” he said.

Brock said deer winding up with plastic pumpkins over their heads doesn’t happen very often, but it's also not uncommon.

Other wild animals, such as raccoons and opossum, sometimes wind up with things such as bags and boxes over their heads.

He said the objects usually work themselves loose from the animals, though, before conservation officers have to get involved.

Regardless of the outcome, Brock feels there’s a lesson for the public to learn each time.

“It’s just an example of being aware of what we’re leaving out and how that can affect wildlife,” he said.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Veterinarian, Indiana DNR officer remove plastic pumpkin on deer's face