The ear tag reads “116” but maybe it should be 121. Or more accurately, 12/1.
Here’s the deal. On December 1, 2022, two Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) officers responded to a call of a mule deer buck stuck in a concrete drainage ditch. It is especially difficult for some animals to get out of those ditches in the winter.
They sedated the buck, wrapped a tarp around it, attached a towing strap and pulled it out of the ditch with a pickup. While checking its general health and administering a reversal drug, the two checked a yellow tag attached to its left ear. What they found out is this particular animal has an ironic and extremely predictable history.
It turns out it was exactly one year ago to the day on December 1, 2021, that CPW received a call and pulled the exact same buck from the exact same concrete culvert. At that time, officers placed the 116 tag in its left ear.
The CPW East Region posted this message on its Twitter page: “Hopefully the buck has learned to avoid concrete culverts. But we’ve got Dec. 1 circled on our 2023 calendars!”
Go here to watch a video of the latest rescue.
(Photo credit: Colorado Parks and Wildlife)