Rare sambar deer put down after getting badly injured in Mandai Road accident
The sambar deer is considered to be at high risk of extinction in the wild.
SINGAPORE - A rare sambar deer was put to sleep after it got severely injured in a road accident in Mandai Road.
A National Parks Board (NParks) spokesman, responding to Straits Times queries, said the board was alerted to an accident involving a car and a sambar deer at about 5.15pm on July 24.
NParks immediately asked Mandai Wildlife Group for veterinary assistance because its offices are located in Mandai Lake Road, near the accident spot.
NParks group director of wildlife management How Choon Beng said: 'As the deer's injuries were assessed to be severe, it was jointly agreed by NParks and Mandai to humanely euthanise it on site on welfare grounds.'
The driver of the car and a passenger were unharmed, he added.
In a video circulating on social media platform TikTok, the injured sambar deer can be seen on the road, and nearby is a car with its front bumper damaged, likely from the impact of the accident.
Mr How said motorists should drive within the speed limit, and be alert to animals crossing when driving on roads flanked by forested areas, especially where there are signs to indicate animal crossings.
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People should not handle injured wild animals on their own, he added. For wildlife in need of urgent rescue, people can contact the NParks 24-hour Animal Response Centre on 1800-476-1600, he said.
NParks added that it receives an average of three reports a year involving vehicular-related incidents with sambar deer, including cases of non-fatal accidents in which the deer escapes into the forest.
The number does not take into account unreported accidents, it said.
In December 2024, a sambar deer died after an accident involving a lorry and a motorcycle in Mandai Road. And in July 2024, another sambar deer died in an accident involving a taxi.
An NParks study carried out in 2021 estimated that there were about 15 wild sambar deer in Singapore.
Another study in 2023 found that sambar deer were
making a comeback after several animals escaped from public and private local zoos in the 1970s.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature website, sambar deer are believed to be at high risk of extinction in the wild.
The deer's natural habitat includes forested areas and grasslands, but a tendency to roam and wander, especially during mating season, often brings it to the roads and in contact with motor vehicles.
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