A 54-year-old man surnamed Ye from Tianzhong Township was hiking alone on the trail at Tianzhong Forest Park around dusk on the 4th. On his way back, halfway down the mountain, he was startled to see two sambar deer. After passing them, the larger deer behind suddenly attacked him without warning, stomping and kicking him violently with both its front and hind legs. This left him bloodied and bruised, with two broken ribs.
The man said that after finishing work at around 6 p.m., he packed up and arrived at the trailhead by bike at 6:30 p.m. He hikes quickly—the trail is about 4.5 km in total, and it usually takes him less than an hour to descend. On his way down, halfway down the mountain, he saw two sambar deer approaching one after the other. As it was the first time he had seen such large deer, he took a few extra glances. The smaller deer passed by him, but unexpectedly, the larger deer behind suddenly launched an attack.
He said that it was already getting dark and he couldn’t see clearly, but estimated the deer weighed nearly 300 kg. It first kicked him more than 10 times before leaving. When it saw him get up, it ran back and stomped on him another 10 times before chasing after the other deer. This pattern of charging back and forth happened four times.
The injured man managed to squeeze himself into the gap of a white metal railing and hid there for over 10 minutes until he was sure the deer had gone. He then limped down the mountain to seek help and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. By that time, he had lost a shoe, his flashlight and phone were broken, and he was covered in blood. He was hospitalized for one day before returning home to recover.
He said that he works locally and usually hikes on the trail every 3–4 days as exercise. He has been doing this for 30 years, but this was the first time he encountered a sambar deer—and was violently attacked by one. He was left covered in wounds and felt like he had nearly lost his life. He guessed that it might have been a male deer in rut chasing a female ahead of him, and he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. “I feel really unlucky,” he said.
Guo Zhishan, deputy director of Changhua County’s Agriculture Department, advised that when encountering large wild animals in the wilderness—even those generally considered docile—they still possess a certain level of wild instinct and defensive behavior. He recommended that the public and hikers should avoid or leave the area as soon as possible, as that is the safest approach. He also suggested that the authorities of public recreational areas install warning signs to alert visitors to stay vigilant or drive carefully.
The Tianzhong Forest Park trail is managed by the Baguashan Station of the Shan Shui National Scenic Area Administration. Upon learning that a hiker was attacked by a wild sambar deer on the trail, they are currently looking into the matter and will consider whether to install educational signs or warning notices.
Taiwan’s wild sambar deer population was originally found at elevations between 300 and 3,000 meters. In recent years, sightings of sambar deer have increasingly occurred around Baguashan. No detailed data has been collected by agricultural authorities, but some say it is due to abandoned or escaped farmed deer forming a wild population. Others suggest that after the 1999 earthquake, wild deer migrated from Shuili Mountain to the foothills and settled there.
The man expressed hope that relevant authorities would pay attention and remind hikers to stay vigilant for their own safety, so no one else suffers an attack like he did.
(China Times)