Deer With Arrow Lodged In Head Rescued
ROCKAWAY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - A deer spotted in Morris County with a hunter's arrow lodged in its head has been rescued.
Biologists with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Fish and Wildlife division spotted and tranquilized the 5-month-old deer Saturday evening.
The arrow missed all major organs and arteries, traveling through a nasal cavity. The puncture wounds weren't infected, and the deer was treated with preventative antibiotics.
The deer has since been released back into the wild. Biologists said the deer's prognosis is excellent.
Farmer Susan Darrah first spotted the injured deer Nov. 1 in her backyard in Boonton. Darrah snapped a picture of the deer, which drew national attention. Darrah said after posting the photos she received emails from Turkey, Belgium, Switzerland and Norway.
She spread cracked corn around her property in an attempt to lure the animal into returning.
Sure enough, the deer was spotted back on her property, where it was tranquilized and treated.
The wildlife employee "sat up there in the loft and waited with his dart gun loaded," she told CBS 2's Christine Sloan.
The deer has returned to Darrah's property once since being treated. Darrah, who colors her own hair purple, had wildlife officials paint the deer's tail purple so she could recognize it when it comes back.
"He made a little trip around the yard and went over to the pasture and laid down," she said. "Totally ecstatic. It was the greatest feeling. I was jumping up and down in the house like a kid."
Bow-hunting season for deer is open in New Jersey until late January or early February, depending on the zone.
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