Tracking Grace the deer proved difficult — even if she did stand out a bit.

But the Marlboro-area deer who's had an arrow stuck in her muzzle since last winter is now arrow-less, the state Department of Environmental Protection announced Tuesday. Experts from the Division of Fish and Wildlife removed most of it that morning.

Grace — that's the name given to her by area residents, but the DEP didn't use that name in its announcement — became the subject of an international petition to have the arrow removed. By Tuesday, more than 104,000 had signed on.

The wildlife experts — Kim Tinnes, Joseph Burke, and George Garbaravage — attracted Grace by placing corn at a private property, then tranquilized her, the DEP said. They snipped the arrow's shaft but left the head in place — because the wound had healed around the arrowhead and trying to remove it could cause further injury, the DEP said.

Without the arrow, Grace is no longer at risk of getting snagged on branches or other protruding objects — which could have opened up the wound or caused more internal damage, the DEP said.

It estimated Grace is 3 to 4 years old, and in good health. She was released back into the wild with her fawn.

The DEP said it's not quite sure how long the arrow's been in Grace's muzzle, but it first became aware of it last December. One attempt at the time to tranquilize her failed when the dart fell out. Further efforts to remove the arrow were put on hold this spring because Grace was pregnant, and a tranquilizer could harm her fawn, according to the agency.

“We thank all of the New Jersey residents and people from all over the world who have expressed concern about the deer, as well as local residents who have been very helpful in providing information on her movements throughout the community and even set up bait stations on their properties,” Division of Fish and Wildlife Director David Chanda said in an announcement Thursday. “Tracking the whereabouts of any single animal is difficult under any circumstances, and this doe was no exception.”

Steve Hindi — president of the activist Showing Animals Respect and Kindness group, or SHARK — told New Jersey 101.5 he believes the DEP is only paying attention to Grace's case because of the petition and support on social media. But the DEP said Tuesday it resumed its efforts to track and tranquilize the deer last week, with slightly cooler morning and evening temperatures that would put the doe at reduced risk of stress.

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