May 23, 2014

Dead Deer Floating in the Middle of the Lake

Probably more than a few of you have noticed we have a dead dear in the water about 40' out from our house on the west end of the lake. We called the city and Bryce Shearen came out to look at the situation. He said the city doesn't have a way to remove an animal from the lake. Apparently, a deer left in the water long enough to decompose will weigh 2-3 times its original weight, approximately 300 pounds, when the fur gets saturated. It's pretty obvious the deer is decomposing, not just from the smell, but because ribs are showing and body parts are separating. Our next shot will be to call the Watershed district, but Bryce didn't give much hope for that option.

Bryce called a guy the city has used in the past for animal removal and he said our best option might be to tow the deer further into the lake, where it will sink and decompose naturally. So, unless there is some objection, workable alternative, or a better idea, I'm probably going to pull what I can of the body into the deep section of the lake and hope it sinks. If it does, the snappers will finish off the job in a month or so.

So, if you see me in the lake hauling a dead body behind the canoe. It's a deer. ;-)