This morning's (Mar 3) massive traffic jam on Seletar Expressway was caused by an accident involving this dead sambar deer on lane 1.

However the vehicle that knocked down the animal had left the scene.

The Singapore Zoo has indicated that the deer is not one of theirs, as all their sambar deers are tagged with ear notches with the first week of birth.

STOMPer Keith_G wonders if it is an offence for a driver to leave the scene of an accident involving animals.

In the STOMPer's report:

"Traffic jam on SLE early this morning.

"This poor animal was lying dead on lane 1.

"I wonder if this is a hit-and-run? If yes, is there any offence?"

Latest update:

This is the Singapore Zoo's statement:

"On March 3, 7.30am, an injured sambar deer was found lying at the Woodlands Seletar Expressway (SLE) towards Central Expressway (CTE) near Gambas. The Wildlife Reserves Singapore team, which consisted of vets and keepers was deployed. At the scene, the deer was found lying on its left side, with a deep gash near its hip and a dislodged right antler. It was also bleeding from the nose.

"After a close examination by the vets, it was ascertained that the animal had been in the same position for four hours (since 5am) and its injuries were quite severe. A decision was made to euthanize the animal before bringing it back to the Zoo.

"Based on the body size and size of antler, the deer is estimated to be about three to four years old.

"The scientific name for sambar deer is Cervus unicolor. It is widely distributed in the forests and hill slopes of India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia. It also thrives well in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, where it was introduced.

"At Night Safari, all our sambar deer are tagged with ear notches within the first week of birth. The identified animal does not carry the same identification."