Deer had a bowl stuck on its head

A herd of deer in Colts Neck, New Jersey, shunned one of its members after it got a glass bowl stuck on its head.

That hungry deer, which had the bowl-shaped light fixture covering its head for four days, would wait until the herd finished feeding outside a person’s house before coming up and trying to get some food, too, according to the Monmouth County SPCA. That homeowner noticed the struggling critter couldn’t eat or drink because of the bowl and alerted the SPCA.

Members of the organization’s Humane Law Enforcement teamed up with the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, a government organization, according to New Jersey 101.5. They sedated the deer.

They managed to remove the bowl, which the SPCA said might have been filled with water, prompting the deer to try to drink from it before getting its head stuck inside. The animal had a few scrapes on its body that likely came from running into objects while the bowl obstructed its vision, the SPCA wrote.

It regained consciousness and went back out into the woods.

“We’re thankful we have such a dedicated team of professionals who go above and beyond for all species,” the SPCA wrote, “and we can do it all because of supporters like you.”

This is a common problem for other animals across the U.S. and beyond.

In October, a deer in Cincinnati got its head stuck in an object — but this time it was a plastic pumpkin bucket, according to The Associated Press. Daryl Meyerrenke said a group of neighbors tracked the deer for days, and eventually his son removed the bucket after someone in the group caught the deer with an animal catch pole.

It’s not just deer that struggle with this problem. A cat in South Carolina had to be rescued after lodging its head inside a jar, according to ABC News4. John Hiers said he had to make a “Superman dive” at the cat, which continued to run away from rescuers who tried to track it down for days.

Seven rescuers were needed to remove the jar from the feline, which rescuers let go. It’s unknown if the cat is a stray or someone’s pet, ABC reported, but the cat was in a good condition.

The same couldn’t be said for a coyote, which California rescuers found with a jar over its head for two weeks in February. The coyote weighed just 15 pounds when people removed the jar, according to SFGate, but gained six pounds after volunteers at Gold Country Wildlife Rescue tended to the animal for four weeks.