With the help of the people on board the boat, Mark launched a plan to reel in the deer and help it get back to shore. “We got the mackerel lines in so it wouldn’t get caught, and then made a sort of lasso to catch it with,” he explained. “The current was going out, so it probably got caught in the tide and pulled out into the deep water.”

By lassoing the deer, they were able to pull it inside the boat. The baby deer was exhausted, but luckily still in good shape. The deer got a long well with its shipmates, including the children on board, who named the deer “Bambi.”

By lassoing the deer, they were able to pull it inside the boat. The baby deer was exhausted, but luckily still in good shape. The deer got a long well with its shipmates, including the children on board, who named the deer “Bambi.” “Once it was onboard it lay down in the corner totally exhausted but uninjured,” Mark said. “We bound its legs using a soft rope so that it wouldn’t bolt and scare the three children who were onboard but it wasn’t really moving anyway, it was just resting.”

The boat arrived at the shore, and they got the deer back on dry land — and amazingly, the deer seemed truly appreciative of their help. “The little deer came back down the bank and stood right beside me so I gave it a stroke and then it put its head on me so I gave it a hug and told it that it was safe now and it went back up the bank. It was such a lovely moment – it was as if the deer was thanking me.”