Words For Wildlife by State licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator, James Orr
BUCK WITH THE BUM LEG
I get quite a few calls to rescue orphan fawns but not many for an adult Buck. They tell you in Wildlife rehabilitation class that deer are one of the most dangerous animals to handle as they are high strung, incredibly powerful and can tear you up with their sharp hooves. An adult can weigh well over a hundred pounds and then there are the antlers to deal with on top of everything else
Needless to say the night I was asked to pick up a young adult Buck I was apprehensive. I decided I needed my large and friendly neighbor George to accompany me. I cannot remember if I told him we were going to drive fifty miles to sneak up on a trapped and injured wild Buck in a dark garage before or after he agreed to ride into town for a free meal.
For some reason it seems the most challenging rescue calls always come after dark when I am already worn out from a long day of work. I must be somewhat of a masochist to work 60 to 70 hours a week just to earn enough extra money to spend my free time volunteering to help wildlife. As we got closer to our destination I found myself wondering if I would have agreed to partake in a round of Buck wrestling had I been fully awake when the call came in. As we left the hamburger joint and I explained I had an errand to run I remember George saying something along the lines of, “ We’re gonna do what?’
When we got to the garage the couple that had called me explained the Buck had a seriously injured leg and that they had trapped him in their garage by luring him in with apples. As I peered in the dark garage I could see nothing but heard a raspy snorting that would have made Rambo change his pants. “ He’s pretty tame” the couple explained. So was Cujo I thought to myself. When I finally found him with my flashlight he glared at me with orange eyes and pawed the floor, The loud “click” of his hoof on concrete was almost as intimidating as his snorting. The realization that he might not fit in the back of my SUV seemed like it might be a valid excuse to turn around and retreat for the hills.
“Here, he likes apples” said the Home Owner handing me a few apple slices. I’m not sure who was most apprehensive, me or the Buck as we got aquatinted for the first time. He did take the apple pieces out of my hand and I was able to inject him with a tranquilizer and live to tell about it.
Twenty-five minutes later George and I were on the road again with a passed out buck crammed in the back of the vehicle snoring like a bear. It was a long ride and I had never used a tranquilizer on a Buck so I was unsure how long it would last. I found myself wondering what I should do if he jumped in the front seat with us? I relaxed a little as I realized “that was George’s job, I was driving”. We made it home without incident other than neck strain from glancing behind use a hundred times every time we heard a movement.
When we got back to my place it was well after midnight. I left him in a large kennel for the night to sleep off the Mickey I had given him (the buck that is, George went home to his family) I decided he had had enough stress for one night (George and the Buck) and that I would be batter able to examine him in the daylight (the buck).
In the morning I was awakened by George banging on my door. “The Buck got away he shouted!” George had come over to see how the Buck was and apparently his arrival scared the patient into kicking the kennel door off the hinges and limping off into the woods.
To make a long story short we tracked him down after only an hour or two of collecting chiggers and ticks, tranquilized him with a blow gun and carried him back on a stretcher until our arms were about to fall off.
Upon examining his leg and getting X-rays the vet figured he had been tangled or tripped by barbed wire many months earlier. He had a broken his leg which had become severely infected. Besides the leg he was almost starved to death, had an overbite and lopsided antlers. The X rays showed the bone in his knee joint had actually been eroded by the infection. His leg was three times normal size and he could not put any weight on it. Amputation was the most logical option. Deer can generally survive without a rear leg whereas the loss of a front leg is almost impossible to overcome. On a long shot we decided to try and save the leg.
It took months and two different antibiotics before he began to show signs of recovery. He gradually put on weight and slowly began to regain the use of the leg although he will always have a significant limp. I kept him in a pen with a five foot high fence figuring when he was well enough he would jump the fence. It took well over six months for recovery before he release himself back to the wild. I still see him on occasion and generally am rewarded with a friendly gaze.
DONATIONS NEEDED If you would like to help any donation amount it is greatly appreciated. Donations should be made out to Witter Wildlife Refuge and can be sent to P.O. Box 1118, Huntsville AR 72740.
See web page under "HOW YOU CAN HELP" for specific ways you can help us help wildlife
