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Two deer have been spotted on the loose and running through inner suburbs of Sydney, surprising residents.

Locals called police at sunrise on Tuesday local time to report the unusual sight.

Rescuers were able to capture one of the animals after it got cornered in a yard, but the other was still at large.

Experts said it was not yet known whether the pair had been kept as pets or were from the wild.

Deer are typically found in grasslands and forests in Australia and are regarded as pests after being introduced from Europe in the 19th Century.

The RSPCA and New South Wales Police said the pair had been seen roaming the inner-west suburbs of Annandale, Leichhardt and Balmain.

One of the animals was then tracked down in a "a pretty bad condition" in a residential courtyard, the RSPCA said.

It was captured, sedated and being assessed by vets while officials continued to look for its partner.

RSPCA spokesman Kieran Watsons told the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ they had no clue where the deer had come from.

"We don't know if it's wild and managed to get into the city and hasn't been able to eat for a while, or if it's someone's pet that has gotten loose and doesn't know how to forage or eat," he said.

On social media, bemused locals reported sightings.

"Walking the dog this morning, I saw them running down Mackenzie Street," said one resident on a Facebook community group. "Thought I was imagining it, but ran into another dog walker who saw them too."

Local mayor Darcy Byrne said: "This is not an hallucination, just a very strange occurrence... 2020 just continues to deliver. The arrival of Dancer and Prancer in Leichhardt in October is next level."

Earlier this year, Sydneysiders were startled by the sight of three baboons running down a street in another suburb.

Authorities later explained the baboons had escaped from a visit to a nearby hospital where one was scheduled to have a vasectomy.