Will edit later
Skip to main content
ABC News Homepage
Search

Just In
Watch Live
Voice Referendum
Politics
World
Business
Analysis
Sport
Science
Health
Arts
Fact Check
Coronavirus
Other

News Home
Deer causes chaos after breaking into Melbourne home before becoming trapped
By Judd Boaz and staff
Posted Yesterday at 10:13am, updated 21h ago
21 hours ago
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
The deer became trapped inside the Alphington townhouse.
Help keep family & friends informed by sharing this article

A Melbourne family has had their school holidays interrupted by a rampant deer that smashed its way into their home in the city's inner north-east.
Key points:

The deer broke its way inside a suburban home in Melbourne's inner east
A family was trapped on an upper floor for two hours while a ranger travelled to the scene
The deer ran from the home once the front door was opened

Alphington resident Alexander Hill said he switched his phone on following a work meeting on Thursday and discovered half a dozen missed calls and a text message that read "There's a stag in the house and blood is everywhere".

A call to the neighbours confirmed a deer had made its way onto the ground floor of Mr Hill's townhouse and calls were made to police and Parks Victoria.

"He's seen his reflection in the window next to our door and then has taken that as another stag in his territory and gone at the window," Mr Hill said.

"He's gone through the window, the curtain has fallen back behind him so he's suddenly stuck in a white box."

It was then that Mr Hill got the bad news.

"It turns out not every ranger has a tranquillising dart available," Mr Hill said.
A smashed window
Rangers believe the deer was frightened by its reflection in a window and decided to attack.(Supplied: Alexander Hill)

What ensued was a nervous two-hour wait for a ranger with access to tranquillisers to arrive at the house, while Mr Hill's children waited on the floor above.

He said after the initial shock, the children managed the situation "pretty well".

"The kids were saying that it smelled pretty bad, they were upstairs saying it smells terrible."

Tranquillisers were not necessary in the end, with the deer bolting into neighbouring parkland after the front door was opened.

"In a few seconds, he was off and out the front door," Mr Hill said.

"He's jumped probably 20 metres over this fence down by the river and he disappeared."
A deer inside a house
The stag was unable to escape after smashing its way into the house.(Supplied: Alexander Hill)

Mr Hill said rangers told him it was a strange day at the office, even for them.

"They said they're usually dealing with kangaroos, they probably only get a deer every one in 50 [calls], I think even for them it was little unusual," Mr Hill said.

"I think the size kind of caught everyone off guard as well."
Deer a longtime nuisance in Melbourne

While rare, it is not the first deer sighting in Melbourne's inner suburbs.

A young male deer turned heads in 2021 when it was seen galloping through the streets of Fitzroy in Melbourne's inner-north.

In 2017, a deer got inside a funeral home at Ringwood, in Melbourne's east, causing $100,000 damage.

There are four species of deer in Victoria: sambar, red, fallow and hog deer, with the sambar being the most populous in the state.
A deer seen running on a street in Fitzroy from inside a car.
This deer which ran through Fitzroy in Melbourne's inner north in 2021 was later euthanised.(Twitter: @AussieAusborne)

According to the Invasive Species Council, Victoria has possibly the largest deer population in Australia, estimated at more than a million animals.

But the Victoria government has not declared them a pest animal, with deer retaining their status as game animals under the government's Deer Control Strategy.

In the 2020-21 State Budget, the Victorian Government allocated $18.25 million over four years and $4.4 million on an ongoing basis to help manage the deer population.

The Australian Deer Association advocates for recreational hunting as part of the management of deer in the Australian landscape.

It said the incident highlighted the importance of having targeted programs for deer found in cities and urban areas.

"The deer would have been highly distressed having become, effectively, trapped," spokesman Sean Kilkenny said.

"It is important to remember that the deer is more scared of you than you are of it."
Posted Yesterday at 10:13am, updated 21h ago
21 hours ago
Share

Related Stories

Deer seen running down inner-Melbourne street euthanised
A deer seen running on a street in Fitzroy from inside a car.

More on:

AlphingtonAnimalsAnimals and NaturePest ManagementPests, Diseases and Control Methods

Popular Now

Don't miss news that matters to you. Log in to ABC today to get a more personalised experience tailored to your preferences.
1.
Shipwreck at centre of Australia's worst maritime disaster found 81 years after torpedo attack
A black and white scan of the Montevideo Maru.
2.
analysis
analysis:Albanese set Dutton's path with his focus on the Voice. Now his rival has locked in a U-turn
Peter Dutton holds out his arms at a smoking ceremony outside parliament house
3.
These women struggled to get pregnant after having children. The reason why took them by surprise
Woman holds her son on her hip while holding onto her daughter who is dancing.
4.
Remember Malcolm Turnbull's controversial $443m in funding for the Great Barrier Reef? This is what happened to it
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull stands in front of a fish tank
5.
'Huge bang' prompts maintenance inspection advice for old solar panels
A damaged solar isolator melted after an explosion, with black smoke marking the attached wall
6.
A cattle farmer's chance find unearthed a mystery stretching back half a billion years
The imprint of a fossil at the Nilpena Ediacara National Park.
Top Stories
Shipwreck at centre of Australia's worst maritime disaster found 81 years after torpedo attack
A black and white scan of the Montevideo Maru.
analysis
Albanese set Dutton's path with his focus on the Voice. Now his rival has locked in a U-turn
Peter Dutton holds out his arms at a smoking ceremony outside parliament house
Mother who abandoned newborn in Sydney backyard urged to seek help
Blacktown home on Girra ROad
Army projects drastically cut as Australia fast-tracks massive build-up of land-based missiles
Three tanks next to each other on an open field
These women struggled to get pregnant after having children. The reason why took them by surprise
Woman holds her son on her hip while holding onto her daughter who is dancing.
A cattle farmer's chance find unearthed a mystery stretching back half a billion years
The imprint of a fossil at the Nilpena Ediacara National Park.
Police say officers 'acted appropriately' during Townsville shooting
Two police officers standing between two police cars standing out the front of a house.
'Huge bang' prompts maintenance inspection advice for old solar panels
A damaged solar isolator melted after an explosion, with black smoke marking the attached wall
The 'David vs Goliath' battle that never was, and why this is the 'best case scenario'
rupert and lachlan in shirts and vests, rupert in sun glasses carrying a briefcase under his arm
Just In

Has increasing tobacco taxes helped spark a vape epidemic?
16m ago
16 minutes ago
analysis
WA continues sending truckloads of iron ore to China but a failure to diversify may leave it vulnerable
22m ago
22 minutes ago
Cost of living bites for the tourism industry as operators experience an underwhelming Easter
28m ago
28 minutes ago
Mother who abandoned newborn in Sydney backyard urged to seek help
41m ago
41 minutes ago
Police say officers 'acted appropriately' during Townsville shooting
51m ago
51 minutes ago
'Labradoodle of the sheep world' Valais blacknose to be bred in Tasmania
1h ago
1 hours ago

More Just In
Back to top
Footer
ABC News homepage
More From ABC NEWS

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.
Sections

ABC NEWS
Just In
Watch Live
Voice Referendum
Politics
World
Business
Analysis
Sport
Science
Health
Arts
Fact Check
Coronavirus
Other

News in language

中文
Berita Bahasa Indonesia
Tok Pisin

Connect with ABC News

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube

Apple News

More from ABC News

Contact ABC NEWS

This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced.

AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)

Editorial Policies
Accessibility
Help
Contact Us
About the ABC
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
© 2023 ABC