Haliburton resident Dave Allen holds the arrow shaft cut from the young deer that was successfully tranquilized for its trip to the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary located in Muskoka on Wednesday afternoon Jan. 24 in Haliburton. The young deer which has received attention for having an arrow imbedded in its head will be kept at the Muskoka sanctuary so it can the arrow head removed from its head and to receive treatment. Once rehabilitated the deer will be returned to the Woodlands Wildlife Sanctuary in Minden and then released in the Highlands./DARREN LUM Staff
ByDarren Lum
PublishedJan. 25 2018
The sky wasn't the only thing beaming Wednesday after wildlife advocates were successful in tranquilizing the deer that has been seen around Haliburton since just after Christmas with an arrow protruding from its head. It was transported safely by truck to a sanctuary in Rosseau.
Haliburton resident Dave Allen couldn't stop smiling after Howard Smith managing director of the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary shot the deer with the dart sedating the animal that had been a no-show at an earlier tranquilization attempt just a week before.
It was a long awaited outcome for Allen whose residence became the tranquilization venue. He first saw the deer on New Year’s Day in the yard outside his home.
Dr. Sherri Cox founder of the National Wildlife Centre was in Haliburton for the first attempt to capture the deer a week earlier. This Sunday she is expected to perform the surgery at the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary to remove the arrowhead from the deer. The shaft of the arrow was cut off after the deer was tranquilized and will be given to staff at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
For the past two weeks Monika Melichar of the Minden Hills-based Woodlands Wildlife Sanctuary has led the effort to save the deer. She’s been communicating with Allen Smith and Cox and enlisting volunteers to help. When the deer was being secured for transport she gave Allen a hug.
Based on how the deer looked Melichar is optimistic about the deer's chance of survival.
“The good thing about it is it's young. It's healthy. It's survived this long so [those are] all really good signs. The infection is going to be cured with antibiotics and it looks like there was no damage to – we don't know about the eye yet – obviously there is no damage to the brain or anything [else]. It was acting normally so the prognosis is good. It's not great but it's good” she said.
