Two sika deer escaping from a transport truck at a highway service area in Luzhou, southwest China's Sichuan Province, were recaptured on Friday after three hours of intense searching.
The deer escaped when the truck driver opened a side door to ventilate the cargo compartment after the onboard air conditioner failed during a charging stop, according to local authorities.
Firefighters, highway police, service area staff and workers from a local sika deer breeding base responded promptly to the emergency call.
Rescuers lured the first deer out of the trees with food bait, then swiftly restrained it with a rope and transferred it back to the van. The second deer proved more alert and repeatedly evaded capture among the woodland. So on-site officers called in breeding base specialists with officially registered anesthetic agents to assist the mission.
After three hours of coordinated search and capture work, both deer were successfully recovered. They are currently in stable condition and have been properly resettled.
Two sika deer recaptured after highway escape in Sichuan
