Deer don’t surf

Someone tied a large deer corpse to a buoy on the windward side of the Kaunakakai Wharf, causing a foul smell.

Chris Hammond owns a little fish taco stand right before the wharf. He said he went to the Ice House Friday morning to pick up ice and his food supplies when he saw something floating resembling either a seal or a dead body. “I didn’t know what it was at first,” he said.

Hammond was down there by 9:15 a.m., but he said a boat owner called the police earlier to report it. By noon no one had arrived to collect the corpse.

About a dozen residents were watching the dead buck floating only 25 feet from the wharf. They were complaining that no one wanted to deal with it. “It’s not their kuleana,” a lady said, showing frustration.

Hammond said that it’s not uncommon for a deer to get lost in the ocean. The day before, a deer swam out at Morris Point while being chased by some locals, he said.

“I was a lifeguard in the mainland for 24 years,” Hammond said. “I worked on boats for a while, (and) grabbed a bunch of deer out of the water, probably at least once or twice a year.” He said deer go into the ocean because they may get frightened by cars, or maybe they’re just looking for water.

The dead corpse was apparently from a large buck. But it was impossible to tell whether it was just bloated from being dead for a while or if it was just a plain big buck.