Sika deer safe after escaping to take nighttime stroll in Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung, Sept. 4 (CNA) A sika deer was spotted wandering the streets of Cianjhen District in Kaohsiung early Friday morning before being safely captured and returned to its owner, police said, noting that it was "lucky" that no traffic accidents occurred.

The deer was first spotted at around 3:20 a.m. near the intersection of Heping Road and Yingde Street by an individual who posted a video on the social media platform Threads showing the animal walking on a road.

The owner, who was not identified, said in a post in response 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," and urged anybody who spotted the deer to contact the owner immediately.

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

It said the deer, however, had fled by the time officers arrived. Concerned that the large animal could suddenly run out into traffic and endanger itself and drivers, police expanded their search to nearby roads.

The deer was subsequently spotted near the intersection of Ersheng Road and Kaixuan Road, but it again disappeared from view. Police said they continued searching the area while monitoring traffic to prevent possible accidents involving the animal or motorists.

At around 8:20 a.m., the precinct received another report that the deer was on a patch of grass near the same 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.

Eventually, the deer was successfully captured at around 9:45 a.m. No accidents involving people or vehicles were reported, the precinct said.

Because of the incident, the owner could face a fine of NT$300 (US$9.50) to NT$600 under Taiwan's Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act 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, police said.

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