One Deer Caught On Gold Coast Dies, Other Released
CHICAGO (STMW) -- One of two deer that made its way into the Gold Coast neighborhood, surprising Halloween revelers Thursday afternoon, has died, while the other was sent to a rehab facility and later released.
The white-tailed deer, one a buck with antlers, sat beneath a bush and wandered the grassy space near 1220 N. State Pkwy. for several hours before authorities arrived and closed off the area, Gina Locascio, who tends bar at the Zebra Lounge on the ground floor of the building, told the Sun-Times.
Animal Care and Control was called and tranquilized both animals. One of the deer had a badly injured leg, and "did not survive the stress of this ordeal," according to Brad Powers, spokesman for Animal Care and Control.
The other animal was taken to Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation in Barrington, and then released to a "more ideal location," Powers said.
He said the injured animal died before it arrived at the city shelter.
Locascio said she thought her boss was playing a Halloween joke when he texted her a picture of the deer about 2 p.m. before she got to work.
"I thought it was fake ... I thought they put a statue out ... I've lived here for 10 years and I've never seen a deer here before," she said.
Powers said officials do not know where the deer came from, but witnesses had various ideas.
Adarsh Devanhalli, a technology consultant who lives in the building, said he thought the deer escaped from Lincoln Park Zoo.
"It was fun," he said.
Several suspected the deer had wandered south along the shoreline before stopping to rest. Some said they've seen deer in Lincoln Park, and thought they may have come from there. Others said believed they'd come from an inland forest preserve.
"We've had coyotes, cougar, deer ... The only thing we haven't seen is a brown bear," joked a Chicago Police officer patrolling on a bike.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
