Residents of Rocky Point, Long Island are used to seeing deer roam their neighborhoods. But they had never seen anything like this deer before.
Residents began to report seeing what looked like a deer but with a very different head.
It happened to be a deer that got its head stuck in a big plastic container.
The orange container made it hard for the deer to see and impossible for her to eat or drink.
The local community kept watch for the deer and tried to help her to no avail.
She would appear and then disappear just as kick.
Thankfully Strong Island Rescue League caught wind of the poor deer’s situation.
They shared a photo of the doe asking people to call them right away if they spotted her.
They knew that the deer couldn’t survive much longer with the jar on her head since she couldn’t eat.
Eventually, after about five days, a homeowner spotted the deer in their yard lying in a pile of leaves.
The homeowner called the League right away.
The poor deer was visibly weary but still had the strength to try and run away from rescuers who were trying to catch her with a pole.
Rescue president Frankie Floridia was able to grab the deer and wrestle the jar off of her head just before she ran off.
“I knew that this was already day five, and another day would be the difference between life or death,” Floridia told The Dodo. “It was a decision I had to make in the moment, and it paid off.”
According to Myhighplains.com, the jar was an orange Utz Halloween pretzel container.
The deer is expected to be OK on her own in the wild.
“Five days was a long time, and I was getting really nervous for her,” Floridia said.
“I think the cold weather is what helped her stay alive because if this was a hot and muggy summer day, the jar would’ve made it much harder for her to breathe. It rained afterward, so she definitely found water and I’m sure now she’s catching up on the Thanksgiving meal she had missed.”
Floridia suffered from a split lip and scrapped knee during the tussle but he said it was worth it in order to save the deer’s life.
Strong Island Animal Rescue saved a raccoon who had its head stuck in a peanut butter jar just two weeks prior.
Floridia says animals suffering because of poorly place garbage and recyclables happens all too often.
“When recycling, put the lid on all containers,” Floridia advised. “Wash the jars out so there’s no food smells, and crush the containers so no one can get their heads stuck inside. Animals’ lives depend on it.”
Check out Florida’s rescue of the deer in the video below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
