Deer on loose in Kaohsiung caught

A sika deer was spotted wandering the streets of Kaohsiung’s Cianjhen District (前鎮) early yesterday morning before being safely captured and returned to its owner, police said, adding that it was “lucky” there were no traffic incidents.

A video posted on Threads showed the deer walking on a road. Police received a report at about 3:20am that it was near the intersection of Heping Road and Yingde Street.

The owner, surnamed Kuo (郭), said in a reply to the Threads message that the deer “sneaked out of the house to play on the slide at a nearby park, but got lost on the way back.”

A sika deer wanders in a grassed area in Kaohsiung yesterday.

Photo: CNA

The owner urged anybody who spotted the deer to contact them immediately.

Following the posts, the Cianjhen Precinct of the Kaohsiung City Police Department dispatched officers to the scene and contacted the Kaohsiung Animal Protection Office for assistance.

However, the deer had fled by the time officers arrived, the precinct said.

Concerned that the animal might run into traffic, endangering itself and drivers, police expanded their search to nearby roads.

The deer was spotted near the intersection of Ersheng Road and Kaisyuan Road, but it again eluded police.

Police said they searched the area while monitoring traffic to prevent possible accidents.

At about 8:20am, the precinct received another report that the deer was on a patch of grass near the Ersheng-Kaisyuan intersection.

Police rushed to the scene and kept traffic under control to avoid frightening the deer into darting onto a road, while working with the owner and animal protection officials to guide and capture the animal, the precinct said.

The deer was captured at about 9:45am. No accidents involving people or vehicles were reported, the precinct said.

The owner could face a fine of NT$300 to NT$600 under the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例) for allowing the deer to escape supervision and wander on a road, police said.

The owner could also face up to three days in detention or a fine of up to NT$12,000 under provisions of the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), police said.

The precinct said the owner would be notified to report to the police station for questioning as police investigate why the deer escaped and the circumstances surrounding the incident.