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Yes, that was a deer you saw in Cap Hill (but apparently, it’s not as weird as you think)

PSA: If you see a deer in an urban area, just let it do its thing.
Credit: John Knauff
A deer near 8th and Garfield in Congress Park.

KUSA – The Denver Police Department may have gotten involved after a young buck was spotted roaming around the Capitol Hill neighborhood Monday night, but honestly, a Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson said seeing a deer in this part of town isn’t as weird as you’d think.

“It’s not unusual for deer to wander into a more urban area … there’s nothing wrong with them doing that,” said Rebecca Ferrell with CPW. “They will wander wherever their brains take them.”

Of course, this young buck has been the talk of Nextdoor, and a few 9NEWS viewers sent us photos of the animal in question.

Viewer John Knauff said the buck wandered into the Congress Park neighborhood, ate some of a neighbor’s plants and then decided to take a nap.

In a photo, the buck was seen hanging out near some iconic Denver bungalow architecture.

Credit: John Knauff
Just a deer enjoying city life. 

“What we really prefer is people just let them be,” Ferrell said of urban wildlife. “They will figure it out.”

Kayla Cramer was sitting on the porch and enjoying a glass of wine with a friend at East 5th Avenue and North Lafayette Street Monday night when she thought she saw a really big dog.

“I said ‘oh my gosh, that’s not a dog! I think that’s a deer!’” Cramer said.

Cramer said she, her friend and another couple followed the deer at a distance to make sure he was OK. Since then, she’s not sure what happened to the buck.

“I haven’t heard anything, haven’t seen anything,” Cramer said.

Credit: Kayla Cramer
A deer in the area of 5th and Lafayette. 

Another 9NEWS viewer sent in a video of what appears to be the same buck in the area of North Ogden Street and East Colfax Avenue under the shroud of darkness.

That viewer said Denver police officers were trying to contain the deer. Ferrell confirms DPD did get involved.

“They had been pursuing it, we asked them not to do that,” Ferrell said, later adding that CPW can't expect DPD to know everything about how to handle animals (that's parks and wildlife's job!).

9NEWS contacted DPD to ask how they responded to the reports of the buck. We have not yet received a callback and will update this story when we do. CPW opted not to intervene because tranquilizing the deer might have ended up doing more harm than good, according to Ferrell.

For what it’s worth, Ferrell said in Colorado, you can expect to find wildlife anywhere – and that harassing the animals (even with good intentions) could come with a $100 fine.

“It’s not terribly unusual for deer to be in a pretty urban area like Denver,” she said. “It is doing what it does. It will kinda wander, it will find its space.”

But if you are worried or find the urban deer in a median or somewhere hard to escape, you can call Colorado Parks and Wildlife at 303-291-7227.

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