Deer With Plastic Pumpkin Stuck On Head Rescued by Town

SOUTHOLD, NY — It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's a deer — with its head stuck in a plastic Halloween pumpkin.

In the category of "you can't make this stuff up," Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell told the crowd at his state of the town address at Peconic Landing Thursday night about one of the more unusual calls he received at work that day.

Despite an active deer management plan in town meant to cull the burgeoning herd and mitigate health, environmental and safety concerns, Southold Town does have a heart when a deer is in distress, the supervisor said.

Russell said he received a number of calls Thursday morning from residents in the Laughing Waters area of Southold, who were upset because they'd spotted a "UFO," or unidentified floating object — a deer swimming with a plastic pumpkin stuck on its head.

Jeff Standish, director of the town's department of public works, led the rescue effort along with Dave Doroski and Donald Laskey, Russell said.

The deer was able to work itself into the marsh, and the men corralled the panicking cervid to safety, Russell said.

Once on land, the deer bumped his pumpkin head into trees and into the side of a house, frantically trying to free itself.

"The irony is that our DPW chief, who's in charge of townwide deer reduction, was wrestling with the deer, to get the pumpkin off its head," Russell said.

The bottom line, he said, when an animal is in need of a helping hand in Southold, "We are humane."