By Mary Ward and Matt Bungard
A deer that journeyed from Pyrmont to Chippendale in Sydney on Thursday morning has been euthanised after it was taken by police escort into care at Taronga Zoo.
Trains were delayed and motorists were advised to exercise caution after the animal was seen at multiple locations in the city's inner suburbs early on Thursday before it was captured.
"Upon arrival the deer was observed to be contained in an area and was able to be safely tranquilised via dart, then transported to Taronga Zoo for further assessments," a Taronga Zoo spokesperson said.
"Health checks determined it was a wild female adult deer that had sustained multiple injuries and was underweight and the decision was made to humanely euthanise her."
Among the events of its busy morning, the deer avoided a car on the Anzac Bridge and delayed Western Line train services after travelling onto the Central Station railway tracks.
But the animal was captured in the Chippendale area and tranquilised by a vet about 11am after police involved the RSPCA and Taronga Zoo in their search. The deer was then taken by police escort in a van to the Mosman zoo before noon.
"The reason for that is we were told the deer needed to get to the zoo as quickly as possible because if it was to wake up when it was in the van it would be distressed," a police spokesperson said.
The animal was seen before 9am in the Chippendale area, near the train tracks between Redfern and Central Station.
"Due to an animal in the rail corridor at Central earlier, delays of up to 15 minutes are being experienced on some Western Line services travelling away from the city," Sydney Trains said on social media at the time.
A spokesperson said the animal was unharmed and "left the rail corridor by itself".
Police first received a call at 5.25am reporting a deer in the Anzac Bridge breakdown lane at the Allen Street off-ramp in Pyrmont.
After an unsuccessful attempt to trap the deer, police sought specialist assistance from the RSPCA, a spokesperson said.
A caller to Ben Fordham's breakfast show on 2GB said he saw a van bump the deer on Allen Street.
About 7.30am, a caller to the show said she had seen the deer on Regent Street, heading towards Central Station.
Stephen Oates told the Herald he also saw the deer about 10 minutes later, while on a train heading south from Central.
"It was near some construction work just below Prince Alfred Park, I believe," he said.
Earlier in the morning, the deer had been reported by a caller to Luke Grant's show on 2GB, who said he had seen the animal around Harris Street.
The Transport Management Centre urged motorists to exercise caution, after receiving reports the deer had been moving in the Pyrmont area early in the morning.
"It was last seen jumping a fence and hasn't been seen since," they said.
It comes after two deer were seen in Sydney's inner west this month.
They were seen running through Leichhardt, Annandale and Balmain by multiple members of the public.
One of the deer was euthanised by the RSPCA after it was deemed to be in ill health having become distressed in the backyard of a Leichhardt unit complex. However, the other deer remained on the loose.