Rare deer in Singapore have been getting by vehicles after a few of them wandered onto the main roads in 2018.

Some were luckier as they escaped unscathed:

Another deer hit

However, the latest deer to attempt a crossing on the main motorway in Singapore was not so lucky.

According to a Facebook post shared with the Nature Society (Singapore), an animal carcass was photographed lying on Mandai Road on Tuesday, Dec. 18 after it appeared to have been hit by a vehicle.

The animal is likely a rare wild sambar deer.

The incident happened at around 7.20pm.

This will be the third time this year that a free-range sambar deer has been hit in an accident.

A motorcyclist was injured in the collision but declined to be taken to the hospital.

Here's a six-second video of the accident scene:

[video width="640" height="352" mp4="https://static.mothership.sg/1/2018/12/sambar-deer-mandai-road-hit-video.mp4"][/video]

Acres informed

After the accident occurred, the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) was informed, but the deer was already dead when its officers arrived at the scene.

Here's a statement from the Acres wildlife rescue team:

"The Acres wildlife rescue team got the call about a deer on Mandai road at about 8pm. However, as the deer was dead, we did not respond. We understand that the carcass has since been sent to Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS). Speeding on roads is potentially a big problem for roadkills in Singapore, especially on roads which are flanked by green spaces like Mandai road and Lim Chu Kang road. However, sometimes, there are incidences where animals can sometimes run across the road suddenly or freeze resulting in accidents."

How sambar deer end up in Singapore freely

Sambar deer number about 20 or more in Singapore. The exact number is not known.

They roam around and reside in the Mandai part of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve and sometimes venture off as far south as Bukit Brown cemetery.

The male has a head-body length of up to 2m and weighs up to 260kg.

The antlers of the male usually have three points.

They are found in small herds of up to four animals.

This current group of sambar deer that roam freely in Singapore is believed to have come from a group of them that escaped the zoo previously years ago.