Rare sambar deer dies in Mandai Road collision with taxi

SINGAPORE — A rare wild deer native to Singapore and confined to forests near the Central Catchment Nature Reserve was found dead after an accident involving a taxi.

In response to queries, How Choon Beng, group director of wildlife management at the National Parks Board (NParks), said the agency is aware of a road accident involving a taxi and a sambar deer in Mandai Road on July 11.

He said: "The deer was found dead when the NParks team arrived at the site, and its carcass has since been cleared."

The taxi is part of transport giant ComfortDelGro's fleet.

A ComfortDelGro spokesman, responding to queries on July 12, said: "ComfortDelGro is aware of an accident involving one of our taxis that occurred last night near Mandai Zoo. Neither the driver nor the passenger on board was injured."

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.

People should not handle injured wild animals on their own, he added. If wildlife need urgent rescue, people can contact the 24-hour NParks Animal Response Centre at 1800-476-1600 or visit www.avs.gov.sg/feedback, he said.

In 2022, a sambar stag was killed after getting struck by oncoming traffic when trying to cross the Bukit Timah Expressway.

Sambar deer were believed to have been wiped out in Singapore by about 1950, but they are believed to be slowly making a comeback after several animals escaped from public and private local zoos in the 1970s.

In 2023, a study published in the Conservation Science and Practice journal said sambar deer numbers are estimated to be growing in Singapore forested areas, including in parts of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve near MacRitchie and Bukit Timah.

In 2021, an NParks study put sambar deer numbers in Singapore at around 15.

The sambar deer is among the largest of its kind, surpassed in size by only the moose and elk. Apart from Singapore, it is found in many parts of South Asia, as well as countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Burma.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.