Deer with bucket stuck on its head evades would-be rescuers in west Wichita park

A deer with a plastic container stuck on its head has so far been able to evade volunteers who want to free the struggling animal that roams a west Wichita park.

Maybe Tuesday night’s effort will be successful.

Greg Reed, who lives next door to the spacious Pawnee Prairie Park, spotted the helpless deer while walking his dogs a few days ago. It has shown up with other deer on his lawn in the evening when Reed and his wife put out food and watch them graze.

Despite having what Reed thinks is a plastic cheese balls container on its head, the deer tries to graze as well. He’s also seen it attempt to drink from the creek.

Reed thinks it’s a young doe.

Other people started to see the deer around the park on Monday and began calling the city, according to Wichita spokesperson Megan Lovely. Since it’s a wild animal, it falls under purview of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, she said.

KDWPT Capt. Larry Hastings said he and Reed, along with a park-goer, tried to capture the deer Monday night but ran out of daylight.

“It’s still spry and moving around really good,” he said. “When we got close to it ... the thing jumped up and ran away. You wouldn’t be able to think it would run that well with that bucket on its head, but it, sure enough, can run through the woods, jump a ... creek and get away.”

Hastings said they also crossed the creek, but lost the deer in thick woods in the park. They don’t want to push it so far that it injures itself, he said.

In a social media discussion on Pawnee Prairie Horse & Nature Park’s Facebook page, some people suggested using a tranquilizer gun. Hastings said a change in state law bans anyone but veterinarians from having the tranquilizer drug. Game wardens can use a tranquilizer-like substitute, but the only person in the department with experience using the drug is gone this week, he said.

So, for now, it’s going to have to come down to good ole deer wrangling.

Hastings said he and other game wardens have wrangled deer before, but those deer weren’t as energetic as the one in Pawnee Prairie Park. Every year, bucks also become tangled in bailing twine and orange plastic snow fences.

Sometimes game wardens are able to free the deer. Sometimes the deer free themselves either by luck or, if they’re a buck, when they shed their antlers. Sometimes, they never get freed.

Game wardens have also freed tangled bucks fighting during the mating season by shooting off their antlers.

Reed said a group of volunteers is going to give it another go Tuesday night. He said the group, and anyone wanting to help, can meet at 5 p.m. at the park’s Pawnee entrance. Reed is determined to help the deer.

“I worry about it. It bothers me, I know it bothers a lot of other people,” he said. “I was telling everybody if I catch it, I am going to keep that jug for a trophy on my mantlepiece.”

This story was originally published November 23, 2021 at 1:15 PM.