A BOLT IN THE HEAD

Carrot the white-tailed buck, so named by wildlife photographer Lee-Anne Carver, has visited her home in Kenora and befriended the family’s Golden Retriever since being orphaned three years ago. In December of 2020 Carver’s husband discovered that the deer had a black carbon-fibre arrow with bright green fletching sticking through his head. But, according to Carver’s Facebook page, “Carrot seemed to act like nothing was wrong.” He was still very gentle and affectionate.

What to do?

Michelle Nowak, MNRF Outreach Specialist, said Carrot was tranquillized on December 17, 2020, in the afternoon and the entire arrow (aka a bolt) was removed.  She added that no blood was noted when they removed the arrow and Carrot was given an injection of antibiotics in addition to a topical application of antibiotics at the wound site.  “Ear tags were attached to the deer as is required when an animal is tranquillized. We remain cautiously optimistic that the deer will make a full recovery.”

A veterinarian in Ottawa directed detailed instructions for the operation via phone.

At last report Carver said it appeared that Carrot has recovered saying that the deer recently “licked her hand.”

The accompanying three photos from carrotthemagicdeer/Facebook show the before operation, during and after result.

Dr. Keith Munro, Wildlife Biologist with the Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters, said that these kind of hunting accidents are probably less common than they appear from Google searches. This is the first such case he has seen in Ontario. “It’s frequently seen as counterintuitive but we really do deeply care about these animals that we hunt,” he said.

“We invest in research and conservation programs and hunters help with various disease surveillance monitoring programs… I guarantee that any hunter that sees this story is feeling for that deer.”