Break it Up! Police Free Two Angered Deer Tangled in Net

Township police rescued two deer, described by police as an eight-point and a somewhat smaller seven-point buck, that were entangled in a type of netting behind a home on Cross Road Monday morning.

At about 9:25 a.m., police found the deer behind the residence stuck in either a volleyball or badminton net. The deer were struggling and agitated because they had caught their antlers in the net, police said. The report said the animals also were connected by their antlers.

The deer also had managed to wrap themselves, along with the net, around a white birch tree. Police Lt. James Anthony, Sgt. Eric Geleta,  Patrol Officer Kevin Little and Sharon Wilkinson, the township's animal control officer, discussed at the scene about several options for how to free the deer, including the possibility of tranquilizing the animals.

The police report said Geleta arranged to borrow a tree trimming pole saw from the township's public works department with the hope of cutting the deer free from the net. Following several tries, the sergeant was able to cut through the net, and the larger of the two bucks escaped and ran off, police said.

The smaller buck also was freed from the net, and walked away after recovering on the ground for about 30 minutes.

Although there is no way of knowing for sure, it is believed the bucks most likely got caught in the net after “sparring,” a very common occurrence between mature male deer this time of the year, Detective/Lt. Ted Reese said in the police report.

October begins the peak of the whitetail deer breeding season and bucks will regularly spar or fight to establish a dominant breeding territory, the report said. The dominant buck typically will attempt to chase other competing bucks away from his breeding territory, the lieutenant said.