(Buck and doe deer image via Shutterstock)
Manitoba Conservation officers recently came to the rescue of multiple animals requiring assistance in the wild.
In a release on Friday, officials say they were called to a landfill near Brandon on February 1 concerning two white-tailed deer that were locked together at the antlers and tangled up by rope.
The deer were still able to move but were exhausted from their repeated efforts to break free from each other. Conservation officers worked to remove both sets of antlers and a large ball of twine, ultimately freeing the deer. Animal control officers later confirmed that the deer had recovered and left the area.
In another incident on February 20, officers from Swan River received a call from a trapper advising he had accidentally caught a cougar in a foothold trap south of Minitonas on the edge of Duck Mountain Provincial Forest. Conservation officers and wildlife biologists responded to the call. The sub-adult female cougar was immobilized and outfitted with a GPS tracking collar. The cougar had minor injuries to the foot, but nothing that would be long-lasting.
The cougar was released on site and wildlife staff will monitor its movements through data uploaded by the GPS collar.
Officials say this is the first cougar to be collared in Manitoba. The information gathered by the GPS collar will assist wildlife staff in learning more about the habits and home range of cougars in western Manitoba.
