Buck, Doe Corralled After a Brisk Chase

ORANGE — Like lost tourists, a yearling buck and an adult doe were caught wandering the empty streets of Orange early Thursday morning.

The deer were eventually captured after they apparently traveled down Santiago Creek and took a wrong turn that took them away from their natural habitat, possibly in Santiago Canyon.

Orange Police Officer Bill Romesburg first spotted the animals near Katella and Tustin avenues about 3:15 a.m., authorities said. He herded the deer to a grassy area just north of the Regal Lanes bowling alley at 1485 N. Tustin Ave., and called for help.

But the ordeal of the frightened animals was far from over.

Shortly after Orange County Animal Control officers set up a makeshift corral and fed the animals, state Fish and Game officials arrived at 7 a.m. to sedate the deer with shots from a tranquilizer gun.

But the sedatives can take affect in five minutes or an hour, depending on where they strike the animal, Fischer said. When the doe was hit, she jumped the 5-foot corral fence and fled, Fischer said.

County animal control officers tracked the animal along a flood control channel to a residential neighborhood near Wanda Road and Vanowen Avenue almost a mile away. By that time, the tranquilizer was working.

The doe was brought back to the corral just as the bowling alley was about to open.

Later in the morning, the animals were taken safely to a wildlife area about 10 miles away in Santiago Creek Regional Park, Fischer said. They were tagged for identification in case they return, and blood samples were drawn so the Orange County Vector Control Department can check for disease.