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Maryland officials try to help deer with head stuck in plastic jar

By Daniel Uria
Residents and wildlife officials in a Maryland neighborhood are working together to rescue a deer whose head is stuck in a plastic jar. Department of Natural resources workers said heavy winds and the skittish nature of the deer have made it difficult for them to approach and tranquilize the deer. 
 Screen capture/WBAL/AOL
Residents and wildlife officials in a Maryland neighborhood are working together to rescue a deer whose head is stuck in a plastic jar. Department of Natural resources workers said heavy winds and the skittish nature of the deer have made it difficult for them to approach and tranquilize the deer. Screen capture/WBAL/AOL

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Jan. 27 (UPI) -- A community in Maryland is working to help free a wild deer spotted with a plastic jar stuck on its head.

Residents of the Bel Air neighborhood have started a Facebook group and contacted the Department of Natural Resources in hopes of rescuing the deer they've come to call 'Jughead,' WTOP reported.

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"It can't eat, it can't drink, and now going over a week since he was first spotted — and who knows how long before that — he's been without food and water," resident Chris Beauchamp said. "The whole community has kind of chipped in to kind of watch out for this guy and try to get it some help."

DNR officials have said the deer is a male between seven and eight months old and can still survive for some time with the jar on its head, according to WBAL.

"Just because of the nature of their face and their bone structure allows for them to breathe, and deer, even during the colder months, have substantial fat reserves that they can live off of for weeks," Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife and Heritage Service Director Paul A. Peditto said.

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He added that the deer likely found itself stuck in the jar after searching for a lick of salt inside.

"When they're empty, the salt that's left in them is attractive to deer and other animals. Unfortunately, the heads on these young animals are about the right size for the openings on these containers," he said.

DNR officials said heavy wind in the area and the skittish nature of the group of deer have kept them from getting close enough to pry the deer free.

"Dart guns are highly subject to the wind," Peditto said. "Essentially, the dart would get blown around in the kind of wind we're experiencing. And the outcome of having a poorly placed dart is actually worse than having a deer with a bucket on its head. If you put a dart in the chest cavity of a deer, you're going to kill it."

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