Deer in the headlights? Video shows herd bounding through crosswalk in Ketchum

A video of a group of deer leaping through the downtown streets of an Idaho mountain town caused quite a stir on Facebook this week.

On Tuesday, Ketchum Pawn posted a video on its Facebook page of a handful of female deer bounding across Ketchum’s Main Street. The post was shared more than 1,000 times by Saturday.

The graceful creatures didn’t forget their manners, either.

“They even used the crosswalk,” the post said.

According to a Ketchum Pawn spokesperson via Facebook, Gabe Dessert caught video of the herd’s cross-town trek via iPad.

The experience wasn’t wholly unusual for the town, located south of Sun Valley. Ketchum also sees “deer, elk, moose, the occasional black bear, cougars, lots of birds of prey and lots of other critters running around too,” according to the Ketchum Pawn spokesperson.

“That particular group have been seen several times around town. It's not the whole herd,” said the shop’s spokesperson. “We are pretty used to them around here — as you can see they got across the street safely.”

It’s also not the Wood River Valley’s only recent tangle with wildlife. In the past week, homeowners in Hailey have had surprise basement guests in the form of a cow elk and cow moose. Both animals were looking for food when they fell through window wells, officials said.

Experts say a particularly snowy winter has made food scarce, forcing the animals to forage closer to people, which can land them in trouble. Fish and Game has also spent a record amount of money feeding the animals. Anyone interested in donating to that effort can find more information here.

This story was originally published February 4, 2017 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Deer in the headlights? Video shows herd bounding through crosswalk in Ketchum."