Sheriff’s Office Deputies save Key deer

Sheriff’s Office Deputies save Key deer

Sheriff’s Office Deputies Jonathan Lane and Ty Torres helped free a Key deer Thursday on Big Pine Key.

Larry Tinkler of Gary’s Plumbing and Fire called the Sheriff’s Office at approximately 4 p.m. for help after finding the adult buck on Pine Lane. Tinkler took the attached video. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also responded.

The deer had its head and antlers wrapped in a mesh hammock. The Deputies stated it took about 20 minutes of cutting through rope and wood attached to the hammock to free the deer. It was not seriously injured in the incident.

Key deer are a federally protected endangered species that live primarily in the lower Florida Keys, particularly Big Pine Key and No Name Key. It is a subspecies of white-tailed deer and is the smallest North American deer species.

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