A family was boating off the coast of Alaska when they got the surprise of a lifetime. Off in the distance, they spotted four animals in distress. What happened next absolutely touched my heart!
Tom Satre and his family were going for a leisurely weekend ride on Tom's boat the Alaska Quest in Taku Inlet, Alaska when they noticed four strange animals swimming toward their boat. Four deer had been stuck swimming in the icy cold water with nowhere to go. They were approximately 1.2 miles from shore and had been battling white capped waves right and left.
Tom said they swam right up to his boat and looked like they needed help. Tom knew that he had to get them out of the water and on to his boat to survive. Tom created a lasso with fishing line and pulled the deer up to the swim step and yanked each of the 85+ pound deer on to his boat, saving their lives.
Check out the heroic rescue documented in the incredible photographs below. If you're an animal lover and you want to say thank you to Tom Satre and his family, please SHARE on Facebook with all of your friends!
Tom Satre and his family spotted four deer swimming far from shore in Taku Inlet, Alaska.
The Sitka black-tailed deer were tired and cold, battling whitecap waves in the water, over 1 mile from the shore.
The deer were freezing on the cold October day. With nowhere to go, they swam toward Tom Satre's boat.
Using a lasso made from fishing line, Satre pulled the deer up to a ladder and guided them on board.
Satre says the deer were about 85 pounds sopping wet. He says if it wasn't for his boat's low swim step, he wouldn't have been able to get them on board.
Also onboard was Satre's sister, Sharon Kelly, brother Tim and his daughter Anna, who all assisted with the incredible rescue.
One of the deer was visibly hypothermic, so Satre said he massaged the deer for 20 minutes to warm him up.
An hour later, the deer finally warmed up, as the boat reached Taku Harbor.
One of the deer instantly jumped off the boat and ran right into the woods.
The hypothermic deer had to be brought off the boat in a wheelbarrow.
Satre waited with the last deer on the dock until he warmed up.
Satre recalls his experience finding the distressed deer as one of those "defining moments in life".
Tom Satre runs Alaska Quest Charters eco-tours from his boat. Here the family is with the last deer, who stuck around to show his appreciation.
