Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) recently shared a story of two deer that got their antlers locked up, with one sadly dying from the stress and injuries of the situation.

According to CPW, a district wildlife manager responded to reports of two bucks that had gotten their antlers locked up, with one having an “incredible amount” of wire tangled in its antlers. CPW said that in rare cases such as this one, bucks can become unable to separate from each other when their antlers get locked up. The stress of situations like these can be fatal for the animals.

CPW said that the chance of situations like these becoming fatal are heightened when a buck has something tangled in its antlers. Sadly, one of the bucks in this situation died from the stress and injuries that it incurred while trying to break free.

However, the CPW officer who responded to the incident was able to cut through the wire to free the living deer.

“We want to thank those who reported this situation to our team,” reads the X post. “They gave DWM Rarick a chance to prevent the loss of both deer.”

CPW used the incident as a chance to remind the public to do its best to clean up anything antlered wildlife could become tangled in. This includes wire fencing material, tires, garden equipment, holiday lights, hammocks, and any type of netting or anything else curious wildlife might get their nose stuck in.