A deer that was spotted with an arrow through its snout earlier this month was caught Saturday night, and the arrow was removed, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Susan Darrah first took took pictures of the five month old buck on her 10-acre farm in Rockaway Township and notified the DEP of its plight.
After authorities made several attempts to spot and catch the deer, it finally returned to her property in the early evening Saturday to feed on some corn she had put out.
"He got a perfect shot," Darrah said of the DEP agent who shot the deer with a tranquilizer.
The deer ran a few yards before collapsing from the drug, and then agents unscrewed the arrowhead and removed the shaft, Darrah said.
According to DEP spokesman Larry Hajna, the arrow had pierced the deer's nasal cavity and did not damage any organs.
After the deer's wound was treated with antibiotics, it was released.
"He eventually got up on wobbly legs," Darrah said. "He headed back to the woods."
Hajna said its chances of survival are "excellent."
It might help that they painted the deer's tail purple, to match the purple coloring in Darrah's hair.
