After being given a vasectomy to ensure that his mother's genetic deformities are not passed on, Bucky the young black-tailed buck raised by a Molalla family was released into the wild today.
Bucky and his mother Snowball, a 6-year-old doe with white coloring and a genetic deformity affecting her hind legs, were confiscated by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife from the family of Jim Filipetti and Francesca Mantei on Sept. 12.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists and a department veterinarian released the buck into the Bull Run Watershed, in the Mt. Hood National Forest, in an area that requires special permits to enter and is off-limits to hunters. The watershed drains about 102 square miles of forested landscape and is home to almost 250 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.
According to an ODFW release, the buck paused briefly to browse before walking off through the brush and into the forest.
“It did exactly what it should have,” said Dr. Peregrine Wolff, ODFW veterinarian.
Ron Anglin, wildlife division administrator for the ODFW, said the agency believes Bucky is able to survive in the wild.
“We believe this is the best outcome for the deer,” he said.
Snowball, currently being treated with anti-inflammatory medication for pain associated with her deformities, is not eligible to return to the wild.
The ODFW remains in negotiations with the Filipetti family's attorney, who is asking that the doe be returned to her former home in Molalla. The agency initially took the two deer because the Filipetti family was keeping in captivity them without a permit, which is illegal under Oregon law.
Currently there are no cervid permits available in the state of Oregon to allow private citizens to keep deer in captivity.
- Abby Sewell
Bucky and his mother Snowball, a 6-year-old doe with white coloring and a genetic deformity affecting her hind legs, were confiscated by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife from the family of Jim Filipetti and Francesca Mantei on Sept. 12.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists and a department veterinarian released the buck into the Bull Run Watershed, in the Mt. Hood National Forest, in an area that requires special permits to enter and is off-limits to hunters. The watershed drains about 102 square miles of forested landscape and is home to almost 250 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.
According to an ODFW release, the buck paused briefly to browse before walking off through the brush and into the forest.
“It did exactly what it should have,” said Dr. Peregrine Wolff, ODFW veterinarian.
Ron Anglin, wildlife division administrator for the ODFW, said the agency believes Bucky is able to survive in the wild.
“We believe this is the best outcome for the deer,” he said.
Snowball, currently being treated with anti-inflammatory medication for pain associated with her deformities, is not eligible to return to the wild.
The ODFW remains in negotiations with the Filipetti family's attorney, who is asking that the doe be returned to her former home in Molalla. The agency initially took the two deer because the Filipetti family was keeping in captivity them without a permit, which is illegal under Oregon law.
Currently there are no cervid permits available in the state of Oregon to allow private citizens to keep deer in captivity.
- Abby Sewell
If they fixed him then I really don't see why he couldn't stay with his mother.
He is going to be a outcast in the wild! Think of horses Geldings versus stallions.
Sad that they just couldn't send these guys back to the family that cared enough to pay for vet expenses and food all these years.