swimming deer
Whitetail Deer
How far - long can deer swim? I was out fishing today and a deer came swimming by-it was a long way out and heading across lake,looked like it was having no problem.
This deer was found swimming out in the gulf of Mexico. I forget how far it was found but as I remember it was many miles from shore.
ive seen both mule deer and elk swim the columbia river here in Washington state without problem. Their hair is quite bouyant and seems to make it a breeze for them. the river is over one mile wide in many places.
I'VE SEEN DEER SWIM OUT OF SIGHT HEADING FROM DELAWARE TOWARDS NEW JERSEY ACROSS THE BAY. DON'T KNOW IF THEY MADE IT.
Further testimony of an amazing animal......
About 40 years ago, we found a doe and spotted fawn swimming Rainy Lake in MN. They were about 2 miles from each shore and I thought I would give the fawn a lift to catch mom.
When I reached over the side and grasped the chest and belly, my right hand got a kick.
I had to look to see if my bones were crushed. Was hours before I could use the hand normally. Let the little one swim.
in the late 80's and early 90's when I commercial fished on the west side of Kodiak Island Alaska we would often see deer swimming across a 5 mile wide bay. They all seemed to be having no problem. Very able swimmers.
there are, and have been since before first European contact, whitetail deer on the Outer Banks of NC .... that says how far...
I live on a really large lake north of Charlotte, NC. One morning this winter at about 11:30am. I saw a thing swimming in the water. I thought it was a big dog at first. I grabbed my binos and it was a 6pt buck.
That thing swam at least a mile and a half across the lake, hopped up into a backyard and just calmly walked away.
Yeah....deer can really swim.
I've got a story much like Bogen's. Was still hunting through woods above a 70 acre lake and heard a commotion. I turned to see a doe running flat out and hauling through the scrub oaks. About 20 feet off her tail was a coyote stretched out streamlined after her. They ran right over me and bailed off down the hill. I turned and gave chase best I could. I heard a huge commotion and splash down below me and when I cleared the treeline, the coyote was pacing back and forth on the lake's bank and the deer was halfway across the lake already. The coyote caught sight of me and took off and the doe finished her swim and shook her coat and walked away calmly.
They swim remarkably well.
Tinicum Wildlife refuge south of Philly and Int airport, they do Swim back and forth to New Jersey.
In Florida in the Appalachicola Rivers and Ocklocknee, the gators get them.
Same with lake Seminole in Georgia .
We hunt around a lake here in central Ca., and twice now my buddy has shot deer that ran to the water and tried to swim away. We caught up to one of them and got him, but the other one swam out and sank before we could get to him. He was a nice 4x4 and we never recovered him, even though we looked for days for him to float up.
I was kayaking on Lake Champlain a few summers ago and saw something in the water at least 1/2 mile out from shore. I figured it was probably a goose or something, but it was unusual enough that I wanted to get a closer look. This is the land of "Champy" after all. I could have had the first confirmed sighting. :)
But sure enough, as I paddled closer I saw it was a young buck making his way from New York to Vermont across a fairly wide stretch of the lake. I was pretty shocked that he was attempting the crossing, Champlain is a huge lake.
He eventually drew the interest of a ski boat who buzzed in. This seemed to cause him to rethink his journey and he turned around and headed back to the New York shoreline. I always wondered if had a girlfriend in Vermont that he was planning to pay a visit to. Or maybe the mosquitoes and deer flies drove him to it.
Pretty neat sighting, even if it wasn't the fabled Champy.
candlemaker, sounds like he was trying to do a remake of "Escape from New York" LOL!
where we hunt in canada the guide told me if he wants to eat a dear he drives around in his boat with a rope hooks there rack and pulls them under for 5 minutes or so i saw many deer in the water they swim from one island to another im sure he was not joking it is tribal land so i guess thats what they do but you and i cant take the deer in the water
some make it, some don't
never saw one swimming but it is amazing how they run through the "shallow" stuff
