Biologist darts injured Bend deer; it can’t be saved

A state wildlife biologist was able to shoot a dart and tranquilize a deer wandering Wednesday on Bend’s Westside with an arrow in its head, but he said an examination showed serious jaw damage that led to a decision to euthanize it.

“Things went well – we got the deer down” near Bend’s Colorado and Old Mill Wednesday morning near Bend’s Old Mill Wednesday morning and “the initial exam, I thought, ‘Oh good, this would be one we could save,'” said Corey Heath, district biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“Got the arrow out, checked him over a little bit better – the deer’s asleep at this time – working on his jaw, the articulation of the jaw, and – that’s not right,” he said. Further examination determined “the jaw was broken on the left side, fractured right where the arrow hit. He didn’t have power to the front half of the jaw.”

Heath said they talked to the agency’s vet about whether releasing the animal would be okay, if one side of the jaw was intact and the other could have healed, but they made the call that based on the injuries, it needed to be euthanized.

“It couldn’t eat or drink,” he said. “I just didn’t want the deer dying a long, slow, lingering death.”

The meat cannot be used because of the tranquilizer drugs in its system, heath said. Determining whether the deer was shot inside the city (which would be illegal) or on nearby public lands likely cannot be determined, though Heath said the arrow was saved in case more information came to light.

Residents in Bend spotted the deer last Thursday with an arrow in its left cheek. They said it was in obvious pain, as officials tried to find it.

“It doesn’t seem to affect the deer’s ability to move around much, but it could affect its ability to feed in the long run,” Bend Police Community Service Officer Bob Gaede said Tuesday.

The deer’s mobility made it hard for police to locate it.

“We’re going to make attempts, depending on the mobility of the deer, to capture the deer and hopefully remove the arrow from it,” Gaede said.

Experts reminded everyone to not approach the deer.

“It is still wildlife, it’s injured wildlife. So this deer could be in this type of ‘fight or flight’ type of mode,” Gaede said.

If you see that deer any wildlife in distress, call the Deschutes County dispatch non-emergency line at 541-693-6911 or ODFW at 541-388-6363.