There are certain things you just don’t expect to see when you go whitewater rafting. And a deer in the water is definitely one of them.
Sure, deer are a common sight along shores as they come by to get a drink, but occasionally they can fall in, especially if the rapids are rough.
And while they are strong swimmers – they can cross a body of water at up to 13 miles an hour, especially when fleeing predators! – there are some situations they simply can’t get themselves out of without some help.
It’s the same with humans – it’s easy to underestimate moving water, and that’s how people end up drowning.
Fabrizio “Gass” Capizzo understands water. He’s an experienced whitewater rafter and he knows how the tides work. That’s why he was in a position to help a stranded deer recently while he was out with friends on the Candigliano River near San Marino in Italy.
There are at least three other kayakers out on the water that we can see through Capizzo’s GoPro mounted camera. And everyone manages to work together to help save the deer they suddenly see drifting down the river.
We’re not sure how long the animal has been in at this point, but it’s clear he’s losing steam and might be at risk of drowning. And could you really just pass by an animal in need while you were out having fun?
The kayakers all move off to the side at first to get an idea of how the deer is moving and how they can best help. The poor creature is doing it’s best to get onto dry land, but the currents are simply too strong for it to jump out and maintain its footing.
That’s when the weakened animal gets washed away rather quickly and Capizzo has to go chasing after it.
The water is so fast we even lose sight of the deer at one point.
Eventually, Capizzo manages to get it up against the rocks so he can attempt to pull the creature out of the water, but no doubt it’s terrified as well as tired.
After seeing how it has been tossed around, it’s likely that the deer is injured by this point as well – at least banged up a bit from trying to get out and running up against the sides of rocks so many times.
It’s hard to tell what’s happening but it looks like the kayaker is able to get the deer to lay across the front of the small vessel so he can row it to shore.
He tries to nestle it up against the rocks once more, hoping to foist it out of the water. But no luck – the deer can’t scramble up the side of the steep rocks on its own.
It’s time for some teamwork as the other men get out of their kayaks and come down from the land and hoist the animal out of the water.
They walk far uphill with it so it doesn’t get any more ideas about jumping back in.
It’s been through so much trauma at this point that it could very well try to scramble away from the men and end up back in trouble.
Everyone is pretty shaken as they realize the deer was probably hurt, had swallowed quite a bit of water, and was freezing cold.
The animal has a clear path to escape if it needs to, but it stands there stunned for a moment as the men pet it.
Well done, gentleman! That’s no easy task, but we hope the deer scampered away happily in the end.
Be sure to scroll down below to see the dramatic footage.
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