Road accidents in Singapore often involve errant drivers and pedestrians — rarely do wildlife get caught in the mix.
However, on Thursday (25 Aug), an injured deer found itself on an expressway in Singapore, lying amidst busy traffic.
Source: TikTok
Thankfully, motorists knew what to do and called for reinforcements to protect the injured creature.
Soon after, AETOS officers came by to direct the oncoming traffic as they awaited the arrival of wildlife professionals.
A TikTok user posted a short video of their encounter with the injured deer yesterday (25 Aug).
In the video, the injured deer can be seen lying on the road, with one of its front legs seemingly bent in an unusual manner.
Source: TikTok
The helpless creature looked relatively calm even as traffic whizzed by on the busy expressway.
The video then cuts to AETOS officers blocking the traffic with their motorcycles, with one of them apparently engaged in a phone call.
Source: TikTok
Creating a makeshift barricade with their motorcycles, the AETOS officers directed traffic away from the injured animal.
According to the OP’s comments, a group of people had also called ACRES for help.
Source: TikTok
Others called the Traffic Police (TP) and Expressway Monitoring Advisory System (EMAS). In response to some comments, the OP explained that LTA marshalls eventually arrived to help control the traffic.
Source: TikTok
In a separate post on the Singapore Wildlife Sightings Facebook page, a netizen shared that a deer carcass was found along the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) towards Mandai that same night (25 Aug), at around 9.20pm.
Source: Facebook
The OP supposed that the deer could have crossed under the Kranji Expressway (KJE) and ended up in a housing estate in Senja, Bukit Panjang.
Possibly frightened and lost, he theorised that the deer may have jumped over the low expressway barriers and ran onto the KJE, resulting in an accident.
While he claimed that the healthy adult male passed away in an accident, he noted that the creature appeared to have lost its antlers in an unnatural manner.
Nevertheless, he urged the public to avoid speculating on the cause of death as the deer is a wild animal with unpredictable behaviour.
In response to queries from MS News, ACRES stated that the deer in both incidents are likely the same, which would mean that the one in the TikTok video possibly didn’t survive.
Regardless, kudos go to all the kind people who stopped to help the creature in its time of need.
The OP of the Singapore Wildlife Sightings post, who’s also a member of the Singapore Sambar Deer Group, likewise confirmed that the deer in both videos is the same.
He also told MS News that this is the second Sambar deer death in the area in two years.
An accident allegedly left a male deer with a fractured torso in Dec 2021. He managed to crawl to the side of the road, where he eventually succumbed to his injuries.
The Singapore Sambar Deer Group apparently records all the deer identities, locations, mates, offsprings, and other relevant details to keep track of them. The recent losses are thus devastating and they hope that the authorities will take action soon to prevent more accidents.
Should you ever encounter an animal carcass, you can contact the following hotlines:
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from TikTok.
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