Deer with his head trapped in a plastic pumpkin is finally chased down and rescued

A young buck that spent 10 days with a bright orange Halloween container stuck on his head was successfully tranquilized and freed after a pursuit through Hines Park in Wayne County, Michigan.

The Detroit Animal Welfare Group, a nonprofit based in Romeo, Michigan, had been tracking the animal across metro Detroit since it was first spotted in Livonia. The plastic pumpkin completely covered the deer’s nose, leaving him unable to eat or drink.

Volunteers and local residents spent more than a week coordinating search efforts online. The pursuit concluded late Sunday, when rescuers tracked the deer through dense woods, thick brush and steep muddy banks inside the 2,300-acre park.

The rescue team waded through a 20-foot-wide river “not once, not twice, but four times” in water that was “up to our thighs” and “freezing cold” before getting close enough to act.

Rescuers said they were “getting ready to leave because dark was setting in and darting in the dark is not ideal; there was a sighting,” giving them the opening they needed to “safely dart the deer.”

After tranquilizing the buck — which the team originally believed to be a doe — rescuers removed the container and treated him for mild dehydration.

The Detroit Animal Welfare Group wrote on Facebook later that evening that “he was up and on his way,” adding that the deer paused “for a few minutes to groom himself and look back to say thank you!”

“Happy tears!” the group’s message read. “We will finally get some sleep tonight even though we are cold, wet and smell like swamp. We want to thank everybody who came out to search for the last 10 days.”