Exhausted deer 'half a mile from land' rescued near Weymouth
Skippers thought it might have been a basking shark
Skippers on a fishing charter in Weymouth are describing their shock to find an exhausted deer swimming half a mile from Weymouth this weekend.
The deer was pulled from the water on Saturday just before lunch time.
Skipper Mark Bowditch told the passengers of his mackerel charter there was a possibility of seeing, obviously, mackerel or even dolphins.
"I see something in the water and I headed towards it. I thought at first it might have been the fin of a basking shark and then as I got closer I noticed a pair of ears.
"Then realised it was a deer, I headed towards it, noticed it was in distress so we got all the mackerel lines back up and one of the passengers helped me to lasso a rope around it's neck and we then pulled it back on board."
The deer was exhausted once it was aboard. It's not clear how it actually got out that far in the first place. Mark says deer are known to swim around the area but it's unusual to see one this far out. It's possible the deer was swept further from shore by the tide as it went out.
Mark got in touch with Weymouth Harbour and between them they decided it was best to release it back around the Nothe Gardens. Then, the tired out deer didn't want to go.
"Once we got him up on to the verge, into the trees, we released him, let all the ropes off, made sure he was okay and he went up the embankment.
"Then the deer come running back down the bank and stood right alongside me, and I was smoothing it just as if it were a dog."
Eventually the deer bolted, with some encouragement from Mark.
Mark added:
"I don't know where he was heading but he was definitely heading out to sea. I think we did the best thing we could do because I think he more than likely would have drowned."