Calif. Officials Working to Save Deer Spotted with 'Gnarly-Looking' Bone Lodged in Her Mouth

Mar. 15, 2025

Floppy, a wild deer with a bone stuck in her mouth filmed California’s Hollywood Reservoir.Photo:FOX 11

FOX 11

A female deer has been spotted near the Hollywood Reservoir with a bone lodged in her mouth, and wildlife officials are working to locate and save the animal.

Howells told the outlet that he believes the bone is a femur. He added that deer “chew on bones infrequently, and they look to get minerals from bones that they are not getting from [elsewhere] in their diet.”

Howells added that he’s “just hoping to get an opportunity to chemically immobilize her, assess the wounds, and attempt to remove the bone if possible.“NBC Los Angelesreported that CDFW hopes to use a tranquilizer dart to immobilize the deer and then plans to remove the bone, administer medical treatment, and then release Floppy back into the wild.

Tim Daly of the CDFW told PEOPLE in a statement on Thursday, Oct. 17, that the department spent two full days and part of a third day looking for the deer, but officials did not locate her. The department’s biologist was not searching for the deer on Thursday.

“The hiking trails in the area are back open, so it’s possible we’d get reports of sightings from people hiking in the area,” Daly wrote. “Our plans would come together if there are credible reports and we think it’s possible to reach the deer.”

Others who spotted the site of the bone in Floppy’s mouth described it as “gnarly-looking” and “heartbreaking,” per KTLA.

“It’s heartbreaking because they’re behind this chain-linked fence, and you want to help so bad, and I know the professionals need to do it, but so many people were trying to help,” Arlene Pileggi, a Hollywood Hills resident, told KTLA.

According to the outlet, the CDFW closed down the walking trail on Monday and again on Tuesday, per NBC Los Angeles, to search for Floppy but couldn’t locate her. Daly told KTLA that a biologist on site called it “maybe the strangest thing he’s seen in a very long career of doing this kind of work.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“Hopefully, when we make progress on this and get that deer on the ground so we can go to work, we might get that answer as well as to how this thing ever got there in the first place,” Daly said.

Multiple locals also updated others on Facebook about Floppy’s condition throughout the week, including Drew Tappon, whoshared videos and imagesof the deer and noted that the bone “serves as a blockade that prevents her from getting anything off the ground.”

“She’s not quite emaciated yet, but she’s on her way,” Howells told NBC Los Angeles. “She’s obviously, I believe, incapable of getting water and of browsing as well.”

source: people.com