Sambar deer put down after wandering into expressway and causing three-vehicle accident

Photo: ACRES
Photo: ACRES

An auto accident on Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) towards the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) left a cabbie injured and a sambar deer euthanized yesterday.

The three-vehicle collision — involving a motorcycle, a car, and a taxi — occurred when the motorcyclist tried to avoid the deer, which had wandered onto the road. The car and the cab then applied their emergency brakes, The Straits Times reported.

Police responded to the scene at 4:40am, while a wildlife rescue team from Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) attended to the animal after getting a call around 5am.

The 46-year-old cab driver was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital with cuts on his head. In a dashcam clip that captured the aftermath of the accident, the deer can be seen struggling to stand up, with its hind legs incapacitated. 

The adult male sambar deer was taken to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) animal hospital according to Channel NewsAsia.

“The deer was immobile, suggesting severe injuries,” said ACRES deputy chief executive Kalai Vanan.

The 120kg deer was later euthanized on welfare grounds at 8am after being determined at the hospital that its injuries were too severe. WRS noted that there were multiple abrasions and wounds on the deer’s body, as well as fractures on its hind legs.

Sambar deer are considered a “vulnerable” species, meaning their population numbers are decreasing. Adult males can reach a height of up to 2.7m and a weight of 240kg — double that of the animal injured yesterday.

They are native to the Indian subcontinent and surrounding area, living mostly in forested areas. In recent years sambar deer — also known sambaur deer — have accidentally wandered into Singapore roadways, causing drivers to abruptly brake, and sometimes getting hit.

According to police, investigations are ongoing.



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