Muntjac deer not such a rare sight

Published: 3:55 PM August 20, 2009 Updated: 8:26 PM October 10, 2020

IN response to Tina Cleveland's letter Mercury, August 7, where on July 31 she saw a deer in her back garden. I live in Hill Avenue, Gorleston, which is only a short distance away from Tina's home in Buxton Avenue.

Over a month ago, I was driving home one afternoon at about 5.15pm, and as I turned into my road, to my surprise, I spotted a small muntjac deer standing on the pavement almost opposite my home. As I drove past very slowly not to disturb the animal, it stood still for a short while before running into a nearby garden disappearing out of my view.

A few years ago, when I lived in the Broadland countryside, I was used to seeing small deer more especially at around dawn or dusk, but never expected to spot one in the urban environment, albeit on the edge of town, in broad daylight! In the countryside the deer population has become more prevalent as the years have passed by, but I only ever saw one solitary deer at anyone time.

However, a few years ago I was driving through Potter Heigham on one clear summer's evening before dusk and in the distance across the fields I was amazed to see a herd of deer, some of which were large stags with antlers. On occasions when I used to drive through the country, deer would live dangerously by crossing the road in front of your car, narrowly escaping an untimely death and damage to the vehicle!