Arrow removed from face of New Jersey doe

After more than 100,000 digital signatures filled an online petition, a doe in Monmouth County, N.J., with an arrow wedged in its face is finally getting some relief.

On Tuesday, New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJDFW) specialists tracked down the deer, which was first spotted by Marlboro Township residents in November, roaming wooded areas with the arrow protruding from its muzzle.

Specialists used corn to lure the deer -- nicknamed "Grace" -- into a private area, shot it with a tranquilizer, and then snapped off the arrow's shaft. The arrowhead was not removed for fear of further injury.

The doe was determined to be in good health and was released back into the wild to join her fawn. The doe's survival was estimated to be "very good," the NJDFW announced in a news release.

A Care2 online petition called for state wildlife officials to remove the arrow from the doe's face. The petition collected 104,493 signatures from across the world.

On more than 10 separate occasions, the state's environmental protection department tried to capture and sedate the deer but wasn't successful. The pursuit was canceled in December after officials noticed the doe was pregnant and feared injuring her.

"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," David Chanda, NJDFW director, said in a news release. "Tracking the whereabouts of any single animal is difficult under any circumstances, and this doe was no exception."

Anti-animal-cruelty group Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, or SHARK, which originally helped call attention to Grace's injury with videos posted to YouTube, posted a message on its Facebook page in the wake of the arrow shaft's removal, calling attention to the "brutal" nature of bowhunting.