Some concerned Cochrane residents came to the rescue of a white-tailed deer tangled in wire last week, resulting in a successful medical intervention by provincial wildlife officers.
Hendrik Bosch of the newly-formed Wildlife Coexistence Cochrane (WCC) had nothing but praise for the professionalism and speed with which Cochrane Fish & Wildlife officers responded after he called the Report A Poacher Hotline.
Historically, the public isn’t always enamoured with the way wildlife emergency calls are handled by the provincial wildlife officers. Some residents of Bragg Creek clashed with provincial officers over their handling of a black bear sow and her cubs last year.
But Bosch said everyone was impressed with the officers in this situation.
There were reports a deer with wire around its chest in Cochrane last week on social media. Fish & Wildlife tried to dart it on Oct. 27 but they were not successful.
A member of the WCC spotted the troubled deer in her yard a couple of days later and called it in.
Bosch said he thinks the deer was about four years old, and the wire looked similar to the cages that gardeners use to train their tomato plants.
“If they hadn't removed it and it had cut in deeper, it would have gotten infected and the deer would have gotten weaker and would have probably died from that or got killed by a coyote or cougar.”
Wildlife officers often get a bad rap, Bosch said.
“A lot of people always say, they're only out to shoot them," he said. "But he did a fantastic job. And of course, people started coming to look at what's going on when they saw him walking around with a gun. And he did a great job explaining everything to everyone.”
The wire had cut into the deer’s chest, so the conservation officer tranquilized it, applied antibiotics, then gave it a stimulant to help it wake up and the deer went on its way.
Bosch said people need to be aware the Report A Poacher hotline is not restricted to turning in poachers.
“Our local Fish & Wildlife office responded quickly, came out and was successful tranquilizing the deer to remove the wire," Bosch said. "It’s another good reminder to make yards deer safe and to call the Report A Poacher line when finding wildlife in distress."
“A lot of people do not know that (the Report A Poacher line) is not just to report poachers," he added, "You can call in other wildlife related issues too, and the difference between the poacher hotline and our local Fish and Wildlife office is that you would immediately talk to someone from dispatch and they can then contact a conservation officer that is on duty in our area instead of leaving a message, and they might not be here for a while."
The Report A Poacher line in Alberta is 1-800-642-3800.