Buck Rescue II – California Wildlife Encounters

Today we received an urgent call from Tri County Wildlife Rescue. A buck was tangled in a zip line in Amador County. I immediately responded and contacted a fellow wildlife capture specialist from Fish and Wildlife for assistance. The adult buck had his antlers caught in a zip line and most likely had been there all night. There also was another larger buck on scene and both were observed fighting earlier. The tangled zip line buck had puncture wounds that were consistent with being involved in a sparring match with a rival buck. The buck was stressed from being caught in the zip line for hours and we took extra precautions to ensure his safety during our rescue. Fish and Wildlife conducted the tranquilizing effort. Once the buck was subdued, we were able to remove the zip line and treated the puncture wounds. We then applied an ear tag and I cut the antlers off to help reduce the chances of someone shooting or poaching the buck. Also the ear tag helps in liability concerns and to prevent someone eating the tainted chemical immobilized deer meat. The tranquilizing drugs used can sometimes stay in the system for 30 days or more, this is one reason besides tagging for ID purposes that ear tags are used. The buck is now known as Orange # 1253 and I’m very thankful for all the networking with other wildlife groups to make this rescue a success.