There was a water rescue Friday morning in the Tidal Basin near the National Mall. And nope, it did not involve a hapless tourist or college student prank gone wrong.
Instead, a male deer had inadvertently gone for a morning swim.
Video of the incident shows he had no trouble swimming -- he just couldn’t scale the high walls around the basin, and likely would have drowned without help.
U.S. Park Police, D.C. Fire and EMS, and a swift water rescue team responded to the scene.
They tranquilized the animal, secured him to the side of a boat, and then pulled him back to land. The deer was then strapped to a gurney as they guided him from the water.
D.C. Animal Control officers said the deer is in good shape despite his ordeal. They planned to warm him up, then set him free in a local park.
U.S. Park Police spokesman Bill Line said it's rare that deer venture out as far as the Tidal Basin, but it happens more this time of year due to mating season.
