Sightings of Deer 'Zipped' into Reflective Yellow Safety Gear Baffle Mountain Community

Canadian officials are hoping to locate and sedate the deer to safely remove the safety jacket

A deer wearing high-visibility safety gear was spotted multiple times in a mountain community in Canada.

Andrea Arnold, a reporter for the local newspaper The Rocky Mountain Goat, saw the deer in McBride, British Columbia, while driving home on Sunday, Nov. 24.

In an article for the news outlet, she recalled seeing the wild animal in a black long-sleeved top with bright yellow, high-visibility straps as it crossed the road and went up a hill.

"I took the exit onto the frontage road and was able to snap two photos of it before it headed into the woods around the Dominion Creek trail area," she wrote.

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Arnold then shared the photos on Facebook, prompting concerned citizens from McBride to weigh in. The social media post also connected Arnold to another person, Joe Rich, who had seen the deer and taken a photo.

"I was only about 50 feet from the deer," Rich told Arnold, noting that the attire looked like a "zipper rain jacket type of coat" that was "definitely zipped up."

In a recent interview with CBC, Eamon McArthur, a British Columbia Conservation Officer Service officer, said the clothed deer sightings are unique.

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"I've had deer with Christmas lights in their antlers but never anything like this," he said.

McArthur said that the high-visibility jacket is unlikely to harm the deer, and he hopes that if the deer "gets caught on anything, it will rip off."

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He added that people should not approach wild deer or put clothes on them. "I didn't think I'd have to specify that one," he said, adding that deer are typically "pretty quick."

In a separate interview with CTV, McArthur encouraged the public to contact the conservation office if they spot the deer. He explained that officials plan to sedate the deer if it is located so that they can safely remove the jacket.