LOS ANGELES – Recently, a female deer was spotted at the Hollywood Reservoir with a bone in its mouth. Now officials are trying to help the animal.

By all accounts, it’s a terrible situation for the deer, and for California fish and wildlife biologist Kevin Howells, “This is the first time I’ve ever seen something like this.”

Howells thinks the bone is a femur, but he can’t say which animal. Deer are usually grazers, or “browsers,” as Howells calls them, but he says they will chew on bones they may find.

“They don’t chew bones very often, and they try to get minerals from bones that they don’t get from their diet (elsewhere).”

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Howells said the last time he saw the deer it was between two trees near the entrance to the reservoir. That was on Monday. Howells said the area is an incredibly difficult place to shoot a deer, “because it takes about 10 minutes for the drug to take effect… enough time for the deer to run and hide.”

Howells said, “She’s hurt. She’s injured. She feels vulnerable. She’s malnourished.’ Actually, he said, she’s scared.

Private animal rescuer Austin Muhs said he is “very concerned… very concerned.”

He got involved after seeing a photo of the deer on social media. He said what Howells is trying to do “is very delicate and the deer is already in a very bad position in terms of emaciated and all that.”

Meanwhile, Howells has his eyes on the deer, saying he was “just hoping to get a chance to chemically immobilize her, assess the wounds and attempt to remove the bone, if possible.”