An endangered hog deer was caught by villagers in Kratie province and turned over to the Phnom Tamao Zoo after it ran into their village in Chet Borei district on Tuesday.

Villagers chased the juvenile male deer for hours before they cornered it in a pond and subdued the animal, said Nhek Rattanak Pich, director of the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre.

In the scuffle, the deer’s right horn was broken. Forestry officials were informed of their catch and the animal was sent to the Phnom Tamao Zoo in Takeo, where it arrived early yesterday morning, added Pich.

“Our veterinarians are now taking care of its injuries,” he said, adding that the zoo now has nine specimens of the rare animal. According to the WWF, hog deer were thought to be extinct in the Kingdom – until a small population was rediscovered in Kratie in 2006.