Alaska Photos of Sitka Deer

Published on October 8, 2010, a foursome of young bucks fell upon some good luck as they were pulled from the icy waters of Stephens Passage by a group of locals out to enjoy the last few days of recent sunshine.  These good Samaritans describe their experience as "one of those defining moments in life." A group of four juvenile Sitka black-tailed deer. They swam right toward the boat, then, they started to circle the boat looking up and looked like they needed help.

The typically skittish and absolutely wild animals came willingly and once on the boat, collapsed with exhaustion.  They recovered on the back of Tom Satre's 62-foot charter vessel, the Alaska Quest. All deer were transported toTaku Harbor and witnesses reported they all recovered from what appeared to be exhaustion and a bit of hypothermia.
 

One of the four Sitka black-tailed bucks pulled from the waters of Stephens Passage is seen being transported via wheelbarrow by Tom Satre after reaching Taku Harbor.

Once the group reached the dock, the first to be pulled from the water hopped onto the dock, looked back, then leapt into the waters of the harbor and swam to shore. He quickly disappeared into the forest. Two others followed suit, after a bit of prodding and assistance from the group.  What a happy ending for our 4-legged deer in the wild outdoors!