A whitetail buck living in northern Ontario had been shot with a black arrow impaling his head less than one week ago. Named Carrot by a homeowner in Kenora, the friendly deer however seemed unaffected by the arrow. For the past three years he had been visiting Lee-Anne Carver, her husband and others after he was orphaned when he was young; something reminding many of an annual Christmas gift visit from the forest.
According to the Facebook page Carrot the Magic Deer and the Orange Heart Club, Lee-Ann was shocked and devastated to see the arrow through Carrot’s head poking out from the other side.
“Carrot is an extraordinary and friendly deer in Canada who has garnered global compassion because he has an arrow through his head,” Lee-Anne posted on Facebook.
Video: (Copy and paste the url into your browser to view video)
https://www.facebook.com/carrotthemagicdeer/videos/872372460179243
It seemed as if Carrot wasn’t affected by the arrow; there had been no blood or signs of infection. Authorities arrived and assured the couple there were no plans to kill Carrot, but trying to remove the arrow could be quite dangerous. Experts all agreed the arrow had missed any vital arteries and it likely cauterized the wound preventing bleeding.
The next day, police and Ontario Natural Resources employees arrived at Carver’s home and managed to tranquilize Carrot. The top of the arrow was gone from his head.
“… The MNR[Ministry of Natural Resources] did not cut Carrot’s bolt. None of us know what happened that caused the top part of the bolt to be sheared so closely to his skull,” Lee-Anne wrote.
“As soon as I updated you all yesterday, I received a message that Carrot had been darted again and the bolt was removed. It wasn’t anything I expected so I ran out the door with no socks, wet hair and my husband in search for Carrot.
We found him in a backyard with the MNR trying desperately to revive him. They decided to dart him again and remove the bolt. It pulled out relatively easy. He was injected with antibiotics and his ears were tagged. (The MNR does not want the public to eat this deer as he is full of chemicals). However, those tags will serve to make him recognizable and protect him if he makes it through this ordeal.”
Hang in there Carrot.
“As mentioned yesterday, capture myopathy is lethal for deer. They don’t respond well to tranquilizers and stress. I am not going to describe how Carrot was handled in order to try to stimulate him. It may be disturbing for some but I will say for 6 hours, he didn’t get up,” Lee-Anne continued with her update.
“It actually got so bad that my husband Alex said his goodbyes and I removed him from the scene to secure his own suffering. The next couple of days are vital to Carrot. Again, capture myopathy is a real peril. Deer can die suddenly a day later even though they’ve stood for a day. Please keep your lovelight on.”
On Saturday’s update, Carrot’s condition may have improved; he has been up and moving and hopefully needs a little longer to recuperate.
“Carrot is the first deer to receive this kind of help. Capture myopathy is a real danger for deer. They don’t fair well with stress and, Carrot was under a lot of stress. Things didn’t go as easily as we would have all liked but, the team from the Ministry of Natural Resources (who were communicating on the phone with a Vet in Ottawa) John, Megan, Ian and Jake, made a valiant effort to help Carrot. There were several times when things were not looking good for Carrot and we almost lost him, but they didn’t give up. Over the course of nearly 8 hours, they stayed with him , even when their legs went numb, and held his head up so he could breathe…
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