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A police officer in Ely, Minnesota had to give a deer a “verbal warning” after an odd encounter Wednesday night.

According to the Ely Police Department, around 9 p.m., an officer was patrolling near 300 East Conan Street when he saw a deer chasing a man who was walking his dog.

The officer got out of his squad car and yelled at the deer, trying to divert it, but it continued to follow the man and his dog. The officer yelled again and the deer began to approach him instead.

Two dogs across the street then started to bark, drawing the attention of the deer, who ran across the street towards them. The dogs were behind a fence, so the deer started to hit the fence with a hoof.

The officer called the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, who said the deer was likely the mother of a newborn fawn. The officer “gave the deer a verbal warning and she was sent on her way,” the police department said.

The DNR and the police department are using the incident to remind people that fawns are born this time of year and a doe with fawns may be aggressively protective. Residents are advised to stay away and keep pets away from does and their fawns for their own safety.