An urban Elmer Fudd used a crossbow to wage a two-year Bambi bloodbath on Staten Island — until he became the first person ever busted for deer poaching in New York City, officials said on Thursday.
David Oakes, 47, turned the borough into his private sportsman’s paradise, stalking his prey in parks and wooded areas in the heavily populated neighborhoods.
He baited the deer with piles of corn and other food, while disguising himself in camouflage as he trained his crossbow on the marks.
“Nobody has ever seen anything like it in New York City,” said Officer Edward J. Piwko, who headed the investigation for the Department of Environmental Conservation.
“This guy was the worst kind of poacher. He didn’t eat them. He would just cut their heads off.”
Officials began investigating in early 2013, when a dozen headless deer carcasses turned up around Staten Island.
A team of 17 state officials with technology appropriate for Navy SEALs spent more than a year tracking down the mystery deer slayer.
Hiding in bushes like hunters themselves, the agents figured the killer was striking by night to avoid detection, so began their surveillance at sunset.
They grouped in teams of three to five and used night-vision goggles and thermal imaging tools to see in the dark, Piwko said.
They continued their search at least once a week throughout 2013 and most of 2014. Over that time, another dozen deer were found dead. But there was no sign of their killer.
Investigators got their break last Nov. 14, when they spotted Oakes setting out piles of corn in Schmul Park in hopes of luring the deer.
Oakes — a reclusive construction worker, according to neighbors — allegedly confessed right away.
“Yeah, I took the eight-point buck last year from the same spot and from a bait pile,” he said, according to a summons.
Oakes is scheduled to appear in Criminal Court in Stapleton on Friday and faces up to a year in jail.
Staten Island’s deer population spiked from 24 to nearly 800 between 2008 and 2014, authorities said.
Many of them swim over the Arthur Kill from New Jersey.
Local lawmakers opened discussions with city, state and federal agencies earlier this month to determine how to get it under control.
Hunting is illegal in all five boroughs. Bow-hunting is permitted in Suffolk and Westchester counties.
Oakes was arrested in December 2007 for following delivery trucks to people’s homes in New Jersey and swiping Christmas packages from their porches. He was described as an odd loner.
“He’s very quiet and keeps to himself. I understand there’s an overpopulation of deer — but, wow, that’s not safe,” one of his Staten Island neighbors said.
Oakes could not be reached at home for comment on Thursday.