It’s not normal to go out kayaking on one of the Great Lakes and end up rescuing a deer from a cave, but this is Wisconsin. Some Lake Superior kayakers paddled themselves into a wildlife rescue role last month, after they noticed a whitetail deer trapped inside an underwater cave.
The deer was found standing in neck-high water inside a series of caves near Meyer Beach. Wildlife authorities guess the deer had been stranded there for at least a week. Kayaker Jen Boyd told Fox 21 News the deer looked weak.
“He was just shaking and shivering because inside the cave the water is freezing,” she said.
Boyd was with her friend Dawn Kerrigan and her son Ricky Kerrigan when they discovered the stranded animal. After watching it for some time, the three realized that the deer was scared and would need help coming out on its own.
“I think he recognized that even though I am human, I was trying to help him. Because I talk and do deer calls and later he just calmed down a little,” Kerrigan later told CNN.
Once the kayakers were able to encourage the deer to come to the entrance, they helped it out of the cave. After that, they said the deer was swimming fine by its own and even kept pace with their kayaks. After some wading, the deer reach land once again.
