You never know what kind of creatures you’ll find out on the water, but recently a team of Alaska state troopers found some very unexpected animals miles from the shore: two deer, struggling to stay afloat.
Thankfully, they saved the deers’ lives in a rescue caught on remarkable video.
Last week, Alaska State Troopers were out on the Clarence Strait in Southeast Alaska, returning to Ketchikan from the Ernest Sound, when the happened upon two wild deer struggling in the water.
The deer were reportedly four miles from the shore, and were fighting against the current, spokesperson Justin Freeman told Anchorage Daily News.
When the troopers approached them, the deer seemed eager for help, and came straight towards their boat. “Both deer ran into the side of the boat with their heads, indicating they wanted on board,” Freeman said.
“The deer quickly swam over to the troopers on the swim step and let the troopers remove them from the water and place them on the back deck.”
A video posted by Alaska State Troopers shows the remarkable moment the deer were pulled on board. A trooper says in the video that the deer were in “rough shape” and “on their last legs” after the rescue.
One of the deer was shivering and said to be “doing pretty rough,” and “didn’t fight us too hard.” The other deer was said to be “in a little better shape.”
“Hopefully, they live, and we’ll go put them on the shore somewhere,” the trooper says.
Thankfully, at the end of the video, the deer seem to be in better condition and run off into the woods together.
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What a rescue! Thank you to these troopers for saving these beautiful deer!