WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Rescuers managed to free a deer that became stuck in the mud in Wellesley Sunday, but not before the animal fell prey to roving predators.

Neighbors spotted the deer in the morning near Springdale Avenue and Glen Road. Animal control officers and environmental police managed to free the deer and cart it away on a stretcher, but hungry animals had already inflicted mortal wounds on its hind quarters while it was immobilized.

"This happens occasionally when the weather thaws," said a Wellesley police officer. "The animals get used to going on the frozen ground. The ground's very soft now, so it got stuck."

Carol Eustis said she telephoned police when she saw the wounded deer trapped in the woods near her house.

"I know that the muck is probably 2 feet deep there, so the suction really pulls you in," Eustis said. "That deer couldn't have freed itself by itself."

The deer was transported to an animal hospital, where it will be euthanized.