Community Corner

The Accidental Deer Hunter

A deer ran into the vehicle of a Coast Guard Station Eaton's Neck chef on Eaton's Neck Road.

A member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 22-7 based in Fort Salonga struck a deer Saturday night on Eaton's Neck Road near the Soundview Marina, according to Northport Fire Chief John McKenna.

Adam Bolender, a Dix Hills native and Deer Park resident, was driving home from the station in the dark when the deer jumped out in front of him.

Chief McKenna, a hunter, called the buck "an imperfect eight-pointer, but big bodied."

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The collision did not kill the deer but paralyzed his rear legs. He was euthanized on the scene.

"It broke its back because the rear legs were paralyzed," McKenna said. "But his two front legs and his head were quite active and he put up a hell of a fight. We had to euthanize him. The goulish blood shown is a result of a small piece of lead placed behind his right ear. I field dressed  the deer and it was off to the butchers with him."

McKenna said it is necessary to gut the deer immediately to keep the meat from going bad. It will likely go to a homeless shelter or somewhere similar.

McKenna said he had noticed the deer "play sparring" with a young four-point buck just days earlier. 

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He added that, although this buck was big, deer are even bigger on the Morgan property and through the .

Deer sightings are becoming more and more common in residential areas, environmentalists say, because they are running out of undeveloped land on which to live and graze.

Attached to this article is a photo of a deer in a Crestfield Place, Northport, residence several years ago.


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