French police warn of drunk deer on forest roads after viral video

French police in Saône-et-Loire warned drivers to watch for deer that have eaten fermented fruit, saying some wild animals can become inebriated and behave unpredictably on forest roads. The alert came after a video shared by the Saône-et-Loire Gendarmerie showed a deer running in circles, stumbling and falling over, a scene that quickly spread online and drew more than 300,000 views.

The message was aimed less at internet amusement than at roadside safety. Police said deer and other wild animals may become intoxicated after eating buds, fermented fruits or decaying plants, then cross roads without warning, move in inconsistent trajectories, freeze in place or bolt in a disorderly escape. The gendarmerie said collisions can happen very quickly, especially at night and on secondary roads, and urged motorists to slow down, anticipate sudden crossings, avoid abrupt turns and stay especially vigilant in wooded areas.

The post leaned into the joke with the warning that “not all road users are sober” and a reference to a “forest aperitif,” but the underlying danger is familiar to rural France. The same kind of alert was issued in Normandy in 2022 after a “drunk” deer wandered into the Seine river. Earlier cases have also surfaced in eastern and central France, including a young chevreuil that entered the Lons-le-Saunier gendarmerie in April 2016 before being returned to the forest by wildlife officers.

France Bleu reported another springtime episode in 2020, when deer were seen wandering in streets around Figeac and Cahors after eating euphoric buds containing alkaloids. In that account, a vice president of the Fédération de chasse du Lot said deer can eat up to 2,000 buds a day in spring, a reminder that the seasonal food supply can affect their behavior as much as traffic patterns affect drivers.

The latest warning has turned a viral clip into a practical road-safety message: in forested regions of France, a stumbling deer is not just a curiosity. It is a moving hazard, and on a dark rural road, that can be enough to cause a crash in seconds.