PORT MANSFIELD – There is an area in Willacy County that serves as a sanctuary for an animal with hooves and antlers.

It’s a drive to find the area in Port Mansfield. First you go to Raymondville, then you make a right on Highway 186 and you are still 29 miles from Port Mansfield.

In those 30 minutes, you will see a lot of farmland, a portion of the Willacy County windmill farms and more farmland.

But when you get there and drive the streets, you cannot miss the deer. There are some that prefer to greet you by themselves and some are more comfortable as a group. They have a found a home.

There is a deer at almost every corner.

“When we moved here they never went away. They’re all over the place,” one woman said.

Last year the Chamber of Commerce held a festival inviting everyone to come feed the deer. And to the delight of all, they had the deer eating out of their hands.

“All these deer that come here, they’re like pets. They’re like cats and dogs. They’ll eat out of your hand, (and) while they’re eating you can pet them,” one man said.

The deer also have their own little park.

The deer are really quiet and stay out of the way. The residents are known to feed the deer, but residents know not to grow too much vegetation.

“They’ll eat flowers, so you really can’t grow a lot of flowers and vegetables unless you have a tall fence,” a resident said.

They’re like the pet that whole neighborhood adopted. They’re the ‘reindeer’ of Port Mansfield. So now we know where they live when Santa Clause is not in town.