Students at Piner High School in Santa Rosa had an unexpected visitor this week.
What happened
At about 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26, a young buck walked through an open doorway into the school's J building and went upstairs to a second-floor classroom, the Press Democrat reported. Students were in the room, though it wasn't full, according to Santa Rosa City Schools spokesperson Patrick Gannon. Students across campus were told to stay in their classrooms.
Videos posted online show the frightened deer scrambling around the room. It crashed into a window and hurt its nose. Gannon said it damaged window blinds, dented furniture, broke a printer and damaged electrical cords. No students or staff were hurt.
The rescue
Two Sonoma County Animal Services officers responded with Santa Rosa police. An officer secured the deer with a catch pole and checked its injuries, the paper reported. Officers then led it downstairs, across campus and over Fulton Road into Youth Community Park while police briefly stopped traffic.
"Once released the deer looked back at the officers for a moment and ran off into the woods," animal services director Brian Whipple told the Press Democrat.
Why now
KSRO reported that wildlife officials link the incident to more active deer during the fall mating season, when bucks roam more widely.