Over 1,000 roe deer have invaded the Omsk region in western Siberia due to abnormal weather, with around 100 animals wandering in the city of Omsk, the region's deputy natural resources minister told local television Monday.
Icy rains in late November, which were followed by severe frosts, could have triggered the sudden migration of the deer, which have never been seen in the city in such numbers before, Sergei Palaguta said.
Omsk residents have regularly encountered roe deer in recent weeks, sharing videos and photos online of wild animals running through snow-covered city streets.
Unfamiliar with the urban environment, frightened animals have fallen victim to cars and encountered artificial obstacles. Last week, the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia) rescued a roe deer after it got stuck in a metal fence.
Annual roe deer migration in the Omsk region has stretched on longer than normal this year due to an unusually warm and long autumn coupled with a lack of snow, the local Department of Wildlife Protection said.
Palaguta pointed to the region's lack of wildlife crossings which could have allowed animals to safely navigate across roads. Instead, two railway branches acted as a kind of trap, directing migrating roe deer herds toward the city of Omsk.
"[In the suburbs], a considerable number of roe deer have accumulated in the fields, and inevitably, they began searching for exits from this formed bottleneck, with some of them entering the city," the official said.
In mid-December, large numbers of roe deer were seen in the Samara region coming out to the sown fields in search of food as temperatures fell to minus 25 degrees Celsius.
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