A rampaging deer made headlines earlier this week after charging through a window of restaurant Noodles & Company in Beloit, Wisconsin.
It was a crowded lunch hour on Tuesday, October 24, when the hoofed ruminant mammal appeared out of nowhere and entered the Wisconsin restaurant. Although there were no reported injuries during the incident, the wild animal caused damage and forced the establishment to temporarily close for a deep clean-up.
Deer Charges Wisconsin Restaurant
Surveillance video of the restaurant's dining room front entrance posted on YouTube showed that customers and staff of Noodles & Company were doing business as usual when suddenly a deer pummeled through the front window, leaving the people inside in a state of shock and panic. It also seemed the deer ignored the fleeing crowd as it ran further into the interior of the establishment.
The video then transitions into the restaurant's empty kitchen with the deer checking the area and proceeding to exit the backdoor, according to local media reporting. On Wednesday, October 25, the restaurant offered a "2 Buck Mac & Cheese" special on its menu to commemorate the bizarre incident on Tuesday.
Deer break-ins into establishments, including buildings and retail stores, have been reported several times in recent years. Bizarre as it seems, human-wildlife encounters such as wild animals ending up in urban and suburban areas may be expected, as human population growth throughout centuries has also increased the proximity between residential areas and wildlands.
Wildlife authorities explain that multiple reasons could be behind this behavior of deer coming into the city such as running from their natural predators or seeking abundant food resources, as well as quality habitat to live and reproduce, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
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Wildlife Entering Establishments
Wildlife may seem to be fitted only in their natural habitats in forests, grasslands, and areas away from heavily populated human settlements. However, previous incidents show that wild terrestrial animals have a track record of disrupting commercial establishments across the United States.
In August 2023, the mountain town of Telluride in Colorado had a related incident when an uninvited guest entered one of its restaurants. Reports said that over a dozen people were dining at 221 South Oak when a large bear entered the establishment, an incident which was also caught on footage.
In December 2022, a deer jumped through the window of Blue and Gray Bar Grill in the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The incident was also recorded by a security camera within the establishment, which appeared to have no nearby customers around when the ruminant entered the bar.
In October 2022, a deer also rampaged into a South Carolina restaurant, 21 Filling Station in Kershaw. Surveillance video of the incident showed how employees reacted to the animal that was struggling to find its way out of the establishment soon after it crashed inside.
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