A deer ran onto Montclair Kimberley Academy’s Van Brundt Field before MKA’s lacrosse game across Montclair High School Friday, then died, spectators at the game said.
Montclair Animal Control Officer Michele Shiber confirmed her office did remove the deer, but said she didn’t know for sure how it died. The deer was brought to the curb at Walden Place, where it was picked up by a third-party deer carcass removal service.
The deer was most likely hit by a vehicle, and kept alive for a short time by adrenaline, Shiber said. Animal control officers didn’t see obvious signs of external trauma, but the deer could have had internal injuries, she said.
“Sadly, deer being hit by vehicles is a common occurrence. Each time a new apartment/condo construction is complete, more residents move into the township, and this equates to higher volume of traffic in an already saturated environment,” Shiber said by email. “The deer, and all other wildlife, are just struggling to get by and raise their young and this gets harder and harder as the number of residents and their vehicles increases.”
The Mounties ultimately took a 9-4 victory in the rivalry game.