A commuter on Molokai has captured surreal footage showing deer stampeding across the Hawaiian island’s main highway, halting traffic.
The footage was captured Nov. 10 by Pono Poepoe while he stopped to watch dozens of axis deer sprinting across the road in columns. His video was sent to Hawaii News Now, which put the dramatic scene to surf music.
“Molokai is not known for its long wait times on the road — but it is definitely known for having too many deer,” Hawaii News Now declared.
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Facing Poepoe, opposite the deer, are a bicyclist and moped driver, caught between stampeding deer columns.
Axis deer were introduced to Molokai in the 1860s and now exist on Molokai, Lanai and Maui. With no natural predators, the animals have multiplied to where they pose a significant threat to native vegetation.
Axis deer populations on these islands are controlled, in part, via public hunting.
–Generic axis deer image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
