A Michigan rescue team finally pried a plastic pumpkin off a young deer’s face after tracking the trapped animal for 10 days through rivers and thick brush.
Detroit Animal Welfare Group, a nonprofit based in Romeo, had been pursuing the button buck since it was first spotted with the faux gourd stuck over its nose and mouth, blocking all eating and drinking. The chase ended Sunday in Hines Park, a 2,300-acre stretch of woods in Wayne County.
Rescuers waded through a 20-foot-wide river four times to close in on the animal, according to the group’s statement. “Climbing up tall muddy banks, hills, climbing through fallen branches and thick brush…but we were able to safely dart the deer. The bucket was removed!” they wrote.
The young buck was moderately dehydrated when finally captured. Veterinarians treated him with fluids before reversing his tranquilizing medication, then released him back into the wild without the pumpkin.
State law required one final step before freedom. The deer received a “do not eat until” ear tag, a mandatory safety measure for hunters in case the animal is later killed for food, since it had been sedated.
The nonprofit’s volunteers celebrated the end of their grueling search on social media. “Happy tears! We will finally get some sleep tonight even though we are cold, wet and smell like swamp. We want to thank everybody who came out to search for the last 10 days,” they shared.
The pumpkin had completely covered the deer’s snout for the full 10-day period, leaving the animal unable to take in any nourishment or water on its own. Multiple search parties had joined the effort across more than a week of tracking.
The rescue drew significant community involvement, with volunteers repeatedly returning to Hines Park’s challenging terrain despite cold, wet conditions and difficult river crossings.