A 29-foot foot Response Boat-Small crew from U.S. Coast Guard Station Ketchikan assisted a distressed deer swimming in Clarence Strait Oct. 17. While conducting a patrol in the area, the crew spotted the animal and reduced their speed. The deer swam to the boat and was pulled aboard before being taken to Knudson Cove to be released. Coast Guard video courtesy Station Ketchikan.

KETCHIKAN, Alaska — Coast Guard assists distressed deer swimming in Clarence Strait Saturday.

A 29-foot foot Response Boat-Small crew from U.S. Coast Guard Station Ketchikan encountered the animal while conducting a patrol in the area. The crew spotted the animal and reduced their speed. The deer swam to the boat and was pulled aboard before being taken to Knudson Cove to be released. 

“We were out on patrol in Clarence Strait and we saw a deer from afar,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Isaak Linkous, a boatswain’s mate. “We stopped and the deer swam straight up to the boat. It was too far from land and got caught in the current so we brought it on board. 

Water temperature at the time was 49 degrees with an air temperature of 43 degrees.

-USCG-

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