Bones of deer at Hollywood Reservoir stuck in mouth – NBC Los Angeles

Officials conducted an operation in Hollywood on Tuesday to save a deer that appeared to have a bone lodged in its mouth and throat.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife closed and locked the popular entrance to Lake Hollywood on Tuesday as it searched for the injured deer.

“There's something in her mouth and throat that looks like a femur,” said Kevin Howells, a biologist with the state agency.

People living nearby alerted Department of Fish and Wildlife officials after the video clip of the deer was shared on social media.

The deer appears to be part of a small herd consisting of seven of eight deer that live in the lake area.

“I saw her briefly yesterday afternoon. But she went down the slope toward the water and I had no chance of immobilizing her,” Howells explained.

Officials planned to immobilize the doe with a tranquilizer dart, then remove the bone and give her necessary medical treatment before releasing her.

They hoped to catch her quickly because the deer might have difficulty eating.

“She's not completely thin yet, but she's getting there,” Howells explained. “I think she's obviously not able to get water or graze.”

According to Howells, browsing is the way deer forage by picking leaves or shoots to find food.

If the bone is not removed, there is a high chance that the doe will die. And it is vulnerable to infection and predators.

The mystery is how this happened in the first place, as deer typically eat berries, nuts and twigs.

“Deer chew on bones to get nutrients they lack in their diet, so that’s a possibility,” Howells said. The doe must be in pain because she was obviously uncomfortable, he continued.