‘Reindeer’ trainee gets tangled up during Christmas ‘flight’ exercise. See the mishap
A wild “reindeer” trainee suffered an unfortunate accident while learning to fly Santa’s sled in New Mexico, according to wildlife officials.
Photos show the trainee’s antlers tangled up in a string of bright red Christmas lights, which didn’t cause any serious injuries but did prevent him from being able to fly, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish joked in a Dec. 21 Facebook post.
“While attempting a touch and go landing at 3 AM on (a) house in Raton, ‘reindeer’ trainee, Macho the buck mule deer, fouled his flight antlers in the string,” officials said. “Luckily he was not seriously injured but he could not fly. Local residents spotted him trying to flag down Santa near the golf course to catch a ride north for repairs.”
A department corporal found the buck, darted him with a tranquilizer and removed the lights, photos show.
“He was last seen northbound at 425 ft AGL and climbing,” officials said. “All of Santa’s ‘reindeer’ are now available for their Christmas eve run and NMDGF is proud to have helped Santa in this small way. No word yet on whether Macho has been promoted to full reindeer or if he will remain in training…. We’ll just have to see who shows up Sunday night!”
Several people seemed to get a kick out of the cheeky Christmas joke in the comments section.
“Best of luck on gaining status of full reindeer, Macho!” someone said.
Another asked for clarification that the corporal didn’t get run over by a “reindeer.”
“Let’s follow up after Christmas Eve…. the season is still young!” officials replied.
But not everyone was amused. One person expressed how upset they were to see “a beautiful and majestic animal wrapped in human garbage,” adding “it’s not cute at all!!!”
Antlered creatures getting tangled in holiday decorations is a problem beginning in the fall each year, especially in New Mexico’s northern neighbor Colorado.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife often reminds homeowners and the public to decorate their homes and yards for the holidays with antlered critters in mind.
“When you’re putting up decorations, keep wildlife in mind,” a wildlife manager said in a recent news release. “We see animals get wrapped up all the time, and all of these impairments can affect their mobility, vision and ability to eat and drink.”
Bucks can be especially prone during mating season in mid-November through December, the release said.
“When animals such as deer and elk become entangled, the stress involved and the physical exhaustion caused by trying to break free can lead to death,” officials said.
So Macho the “reindeer” trainee got pretty lucky this time.
“Glad they were able to locate him and help him out,” someone said.
This story was originally published December 22, 2023 at 6:11 PM with the headline "‘Reindeer’ trainee gets tangled up during Christmas ‘flight’ exercise. See the mishap."
