Rock Springs Loves Steve, A Mule Deer With Gnarled Antlers And…

When it comes to hanging out with his deer buddies and snacking on his favorite treat — crabapples fresh off the trees — a mule deer buck that lives in Rock Springs isn’t about the let anything stop him.

Not even terrible injuries that have left him limping along on three hooves with antlers that are a tangled mess.

What Do We Call Him?

Folks weren’t sure what to call the buck that has limped his way around the southwest Wyoming town for a couple of years and become a local fixture.

So, Rock Springs resident Daxton Staley posted a poll on social media calling on other locals to help him decide on a name.

Popular options included Eliot after the goofy, one-antlered deer from the animated children’s movie “Open Season.”

Many favored “Lt. Dan” after the character in the hugely popular cinematic tribute to Americana, “Forrest Gump.”

In that movie, Lt. Dan is initially angry and cynical after losing his legs during the Vietnam War, but eventually finds redemption and happiness.

However, one fitting name won out: Steve the Survivor.

Staley said he came up with that name.

“I was sitting on the couch, and I saw him through the living room window, and I thought ‘Steve’ seemed to fit him. He’s Steve the Survivor,” he said.

How Did He Get That Way?

Quite a few mule deer call Rock Springs home. They frequently move between tasty lawns in quiet neighborhoods and resting spots in the vast, arid lands surrounding the city.

Among the deer, Steve has been popular for a while, Staley told Cowboy State Daily.

Nobody seems to know for sure how Steve got to be the way that he is. But as the story goes, he was more-or-less a normal buck before being struck by a vehicle about two years ago, Staley said.

The accident left the young buck horribly wounded and deformed, but he slowly recovered enough to keep living his best life.

At first, one of Steve’s rear hooves was “hanging on by just some fur and maybe a tendon,” Staley said. “But then it fell completely off.”

Not to be so easily stopped, Steve continued to limp along on the stump, which eventually calloused over, Staley said.

According to wildlife biologists, head injuries can cause unusual antler growth in deer. That could probably account for the wild and wacky way that Steve’s antlers come in every year.

Bucks start growing antlers in the spring. At first, the antlers are covered with a nutrient-rich membrane called velvet. Once that dries up and falls off, usually in late summer or early fall, the antlers are revealed in their full glory.

The antlers themselves fall off, usually around February, and the process starts all over again with the antlers growing in bigger with each passing year.

A Few Injured Deer Around Town

Steve isn’t the only deer with old injuries in Rock Springs, Animal Control Officer Lydia Gomez told Cowboy State Daily.

“There are a few bucks that we have been called about,” Gomez said. “Game and Fish is also aware of the deer. They have old injuries, and are able to get around and eat, (so) Game and Fish leaves them alone.”

He’s Not Pathetic, He’s Tough

Some people think Steve the Survivor is pathetic. But Staley doesn’t think that’s the right way to regard the tenacious buck.

“A lot of people have seen him, and some people were talking about how sad it is,” he said.

Steve doesn’t seem to be sad at all, Staley said.

“He’s been munching on the neighbor’s crabapples” and appears to have plenty of energy, he said.

Staley said when he watches Steve, he doesn’t feel pity. He feels inspired.

“He’s a symbol of perseverance,” Staley said. “He’s definitely a cool deer, and he’s tough.”

Contact Mark Heinz at mark@cowboystatedaily.com

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.