That's a funny looking dog: Feral deer spotted in Port Kembla street

If we needed any more proof of how far Wollongong's feral deer problem had spread, here it is.

These two wild deer shocked Port Kembla residents when they turned up on Surfside Drive - just 300m from the beach - at dinner time.

Longtime residents say they haven't seen anything like it in 30 years.

Earlier that day, two deer were found killed on Memorial Dr at Fairy Meadow.

Read more: Kills on major road as feral deer edge closer to Wollongong

On Wednesday night, Port Kembla resident Maria Ciccone acted quickly to photograph the animals so she could warn neighbours.

"We were just coming back from an early dinner, we drove up our driveway near the beach - I said to my husband that's a funny looking dog!" she said.

"Then we realised it was a deer; there were two of them there. We've lived here over 20 years and I've never seen a deer in Port Kembla."

When she posted the picture online, other neighbours said they had been there for 30 years and never seen a deer.

Experts say deer are most likely to be found in urban areas in winter, which is the deer's breeding season. Dominant bucks enforce their territorial superiority in their preferred habitat, driving out younger males who have to go in search of new territory.

Deer are a familiar menace in Figtree, Keiraville, Helensburgh an Otford, but they have been being spotted much further afield - with critics saying their numbers are out of control.

Sightings in Austinmer, Fairy Meadow and now Port Kembla may be indications there is a new "normal".

Ms Ciccone said the deer were well behaved, staying off the road.

"We slowed down the car because I'd heard of a lot of horror stories about them jumping on your car," she said.

"They stopped ... we looked at them, and they looked at us.

"They were good deer - they were running on the walkways, in and out of people's driveways, up and down the street. They didn't seem frightened."

Illawarra Mercury