This is the moment a deer runs in frantic circles beside a road after apparently feasting on fermented forest fruit that police said may have left the animal drunk.
The footage was obtained from the French gendarmerie in the Saone-et-Loire department after the incident reportedly took place in a wooded area in Burgundy, in France.
The video shows the deer stumbling, abruptly changing direction and darting around near the roadside.
The roe deer species featured in the footage, Capreolus capreolus, is reportedly known to ingest fermented fruit.
This image is a screen grab of the video supplied titled NewsX-DrunkDeer-01.mp4: Footage shows a deer running erratically in circles after reportedly becoming intoxicated from fermented fruits and plants in Saone-et-Loire, Burgundy, France, undated. Footage published by Saone-et-Loire Gendarmerie on May, 5, 2026.(@gendarmeriedesaoneetloire/Clipzilla/NX)
The police department said: “Ladies and gentlemen… not all road users are sober. This footage proves it.
“In spring, some wild animals consume buds, fermented fruits or decaying plants… and can have totally unpredictable behaviour.
“The danger is that they can suddenly cross the road, have an inconsistent trajectory, suddenly stop in the road, and run in a disorderly way.
“And if there is danger, then there are potential consequences: a crash can happen very quickly, especially at night or on a secondary road.
“So, we slow down, we can anticipate, we can avoid car accidents, and we can double our vigilance in a wooded area.
“If Bambi forces on the forest aperitif, it might not be the time to drive like you own the road.
“Have a nice evening.”
The department later added: “Many of you have noticed it: on a video, it is impossible to establish a definitive veterinary diagnosis.
“The observed behaviour may be compatible with fermented plant ingestion, a very well-known and very common phenomenon in spring in some cervidae.
“But other causes cannot obviously be excluded: injury, disease, trauma or neurological disorder.”
(Joe Golder/Clipzilla)
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