The Prince Rupert buck known as 鈥淗ammy鈥 managed to evade conservation officers who sought to remove the hammock strings attached to the deer鈥檚 antlers.
鈥淲e were unsuccessful in our pursuit to capture Hammy and free him of the hammock. He appears to be travelling a lot with the rut being on and doesn鈥檛 stay long in any one place, we will continue to monitor and if we can free up more time we will attempt capture again, thanks for all your help,鈥 wrote Tracy Walbauer, a conservation officer based in Terrace, in an email.
The officers drove in from Terrace and planned to tranquilize the buck and disentangle the purple threads. The deer has been donning the unique head gear since mid-August when it became caught in a backyard hammock. Since then, residents of Prince Rupert have started calling the deer 鈥淗ammy.鈥
So why now? The buck has become a bit of an internet sensation, many people have expressed concern about his welfare, and the conservation office was aware of the situation.
鈥淲ith the rut starting right now we鈥檙e a little worried he鈥檚 going to get entangled with another buck when they鈥檙e sparring and we鈥檒l have two of them tied together,鈥 said Tracy Walbauer, a conservation officer based in Terrace, on Nov. 16.
The conservation officers were in Prince Rupert from Thursday until Friday and reached out to the public to report sightings of Hammy.
READ & WATCH MORE:
They were asking people to call 1-877-952-7277. Sightings are usually posted on the Chronicles of Hammy The Deer Official Page, which has 1, 180 members.
The woman who started the page, Marced茅s Mark, said she has been concerned about the buck becoming tangled with another deer. 鈥淚鈥檓 so glad they are taking steps to help Hammy get the hammock removed,鈥 she said, encouraging people to post photos and to call the conservation office number.
Walbauer said once they find Hammy they will be tagging the deer to track his whereabouts 鈥 but that it isn鈥檛 a GPS tracker. People will be able to spot Hammy, once the hammock pieces have been removed, by the little yellow tag that will be placed in his ear, that is if the conservation officers ever find him.
shannon.lough@thenorthernview.com
Like us on and follow us on