BALTIMORE (WJZ) – “Jughead” may not be the kindest nickname, but it fit the deer that got his head stuck inside a plastic jug last week.

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The deer is now free of his headgear, but for a week, people who lived in the wooded area of Bel Air where he was spotted watched and worried about the creature.

It’s believed the deer came across the container in a recycling bin, and became stuck while trying to lick the salt from the bottom.

“It’s like a pretzel container,” neighbor Catherine Hackman said. “It’s pretty wide at the bottom and comes up and it’s completely over his face so he can’t eat or drink.”

DNR staff began monitoring the deer, hoping it would shake the jug free — no such luck.

“He somehow managed to get it up over his head on top of his ears, and there was no way it was coming off at that point,” said Paul Peditto, of the Department of Natural Resources.

So the decision was made on Sunday to tranquilize “Jughead.”

“One of our folks got a shot in him and in 15 minutes he was fully sedated,” Peditto says.

That allowed DNR staff to do what the deer was unable to do himself — get the jug off without injuring him.

And just in time, too.

The body fat that kept the deer going was almost used up.

“So he was ready for a meal almost immediately,” according to Peditto.

People in the neighborhood who first spotted the deer appreciated the days DNR spent tracking him.

“They’re very committed to it,” Peditto says.

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