Betsy Bloom/Daily News photo Some of the deer herd linger near the pool in the pen Sunday at Iron Mountain’s City Park, including two does with new fawns. The Canada geese and ducks that use the pool and hang around the pen have led to water quality issues, officials said.

RON MOUNTAIN — One of the six ailing deer culled last week from a herd at Iron Mountain’s City Park was a pregnant doe believed to be 21 years old, city council members learned.

The information was part of an update from City Manager Jordan Stanchina, who continues to search for a veterinarian to provide services for the penned herd that’s been a park attraction since at least the 1940s.

The city faces pressure from a USDA veterinary medical officer to improve the pen and have a care plan in place under supervision of a local attending veterinarian. The six animals culled last week were identified by Brianna Waldrop of the USDA as having visual signs of suspected illness.

Stanchina said several issues must be resolved if the city plans on keeping the herd, the first of which is hiring a veterinarian of record. “If you don’t have one, you can’t have a deer pen,” he said.

Another key requirement is a corral and catch mechanism to enable examination and treatment of individual deer.

Challenges identified by the USDA could force the city’s hand in reaching a decision on whether to keep the herd, though none was made during Monday’s council meeting.

“We’ll do our due diligence,” Stanchina said, adding, “the other part we’re never going to get past is the inbreeding.”

Stanchina acknowledged health problems within the herd, but noted the culled doe survived far longer than it might have in the wild. Waldrop during a May 13 inspection counted 21 deer in the pen and noted a new fawn as of May 19.

The city’s understanding is there’s no way the herd can be relocated, though Stanchina said he’ll try to “double-verify” that.

The council earlier this year sought input from the community on whether to keep the 6-acre pen, drawing a mixed reception.

One citizen, John Sachetti, addressed the council Monday, stating, “I want it kept open.”