It was quite the struggle for a white-tail deer in southern Saskatchewan who was locked together with another buck that was already dead.
The incident happened Dec. 18 in Rowan’s Ravine near Southey.
Conservation officers were called to the area as the live deer couldn’t get free from a dead buck that was partially eaten by coyotes.
Upon arrival, conservation officers noticed the deer was in distress.
“The surrounding ground was disturbed in a wide area around the deer, indicating that the deer had been struggling to get free for quite some time,” said the Saskatchewan Association of Conservation Officers in a statement published on their Facebook page.
An officer ended up shooting the locked antlers.
“The officer was able to get within about 15 metres of the deer, and using her patrol shotgun loaded with a lead slug, was able to shoot the locked antlers, breaking the deer apart. The deer, once freed from his dead weight, ran off towards a valley to recover from its stressful ordeal,” said the Saskatchewan Association of Conservation Officers.