Resident Toni Howard was in her front yard on Denham Drive when a large deer that appeared "lost" and "startled" approached her on Saturday afternoon. She ran inside, and the deer fled for the opposite end of the street.

In footage captured by Ms Howard from her home, the deer is seen peeking into the windows of homes as it ran along the grass in the direction of Dapto Public School.

While Ms Howard said it was unusual for deer to pop up on that particular street, she does see them at Reed Park and hoped the lost animal eventually found its way there.

In recent weeks, the Mercury has reported on deer running across Memorial Drive during peak hour and another instance where a luxury Mercedes was seriously damaged by colliding with an animal on the M1.

A startled deer was also spotted bolting along North Wollongong beach.

There is a perfectly good reason as to why it seems more deer are roaming around the Illawarra suburbs, but according to experts, it's not due to an influx in population.

The ferals are currently in their "rutting" - or mating - season, which makes the male deer who are competing for a female mate less aware of their surroundings.

Ms Davies said there was always an increase of sightings of deer during the rut which runs from June through to September.

If you spot a deer roaming around, Local Land Services want to know about it so record the sighting through the website www.feralscan.org.au, as it helps helps keep track of their movements and improves the deer management program.

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