Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wildlife personnel successfully helped a whitetail buck near Whitefish that had bailing twine wrapped around its neck and antlers on Feb. 26.

 FWP had received calls from Whitefish residents about the buck since late December. The deer was seen by many residents near Armory Road, on the east side of Whitefish, as it wandered into the city to access the Whitefish River.

On Feb. 24, a caller told a county dispatcher that the buck was near the Montessori school and advising dispatching the animal. The dispatcher told the reporting party to leave the buck alone.

FWP bear and lion specialist Erik Wenum and FWP area warden Chris Crane responded to the early reports and observed the buck. They decided to delay action because it appeared that the twine did not impair the deer’s movement or breathing. They reasoned that when the antlers were shed, the bailing twine would go with them.

The deer was monitored with the help of local residents. However, when the buck later dropped its antlers, the antlers and twine mass fell down around its neck. Monitoring continued, but over time it appeared the twine had tightened around the buck’s neck.

On Feb. 26, working with a local landowner, Wenum and Crane were able to dart the buck and sedate it just enough for them to remove the twine and the shed antlers which were tangled up in it. When released, the deer recovered from the drug and appeared to be fine.

In a press release, FWP thanked area residents for their patience in allowing FWP personnel to handle the situation in the best way.

“Any time a wild animal is handled, it can be stressful for the animal, and these kinds of actions are not fail-safe,” FWP spokesman John Fraley said.