Deer Swimming & Relaxing at Inlet Beach on Friday Nov 25, 2011

[Teresa]

Deer Relaxing on Beach on Black Friday

By Giarc80 | Posted November 25, 2011 | Inlet Beach, Florida



CNN PRODUCER NOTE Giarc80 shot these pictures on November 25 of a deer relaxing on the sands of of Inlet Beach, Florida. 'The buck seemed tired and cold,' he said. 'The deer would swim a long distance down the beach, turn around and come back to the same point. He would then get out of the surf and bask in the sun on the beach while resting and then go back in the water to swim some more.'
- jmsaba, CNN iReport producer


iReport — I was walking down the beach this afternoon and saw this deer resting by the pier at Camp Helen State Park, at Inlet Beach, Florida on the Gulf Coast.

The young buck quickly drew a crowd and some of us were worried because the deer was shivering and did not want to move. We contacted the park ranger at Camp Helen who said that the deer had been swimming in the gulf on and off all day and in between swims would lie on the beach to rest.

While others were braving Black Friday chaos, he had a relaxing day lounging on the beach.

[Franny]

The news reported and confirmed last night that this deer is not Rudolph, but not so sure about Dancer. Resting up before the big day. And a beautiful sight!

[joho]

This is just one of the wonderful sightings we choose to live here.........does it get any better than this!

[Teresa]

The news caption said Deer Relaxing on Beach on Black Friday. Why? Black Friday has no significance to deer, nature or me.

[joho]

The news caption said Deer Relaxing on Beach on Black Friday. Why? Black Friday has no significance to deer, nature or me.

I have to agree with you Toots............Black Friday has nothing to do with the price of fish!

[Bobby J]

I wonder if anything is wrong with that deer?

[Murray Balkcom]

Deer do love to eat salt and are all over the place in South Walton. The second photo looks a little posed to me, maybe photoshopped. Deer don't let people get too close this time of year.

[Bluznbeach]

I hope he was okay, too. They don't usually sit like that for very long. Funny - I was in Inlet Beach that day and didn't even know about this.

[Lynn Carper]

The reference to Black Friday was just meant to be humorous. So many people were out in all the craziness and chaos of Black Friday while this beautiful deer looked perfectly happy on the near empty beach on such a gorgeous day. He had the right idea!

[Lynn Carper]

The deer was not posed or photoshopped. He was very tired from swimming. Some people even petted him. Some of us have been checking back with Camp Helen State park to see if they had any more info on the deer. He has not been seen on the beach since that day. They think that is a good sign that he is OK.

[Mango]

Deer do love to eat salt and are all over the place in South Walton. The second photo looks a little posed to me, maybe photoshopped. Deer don't let people get too close this time of year.

Christmas, 2008.

[Teresa]

The deer was not posed or photoshopped. He was very tired from swimming. Some people even petted him. Some of us have been checking back with Camp Helen State park to see if they had any more info on the deer. He has not been seen on the beach since that day. They think that is a good sign that he is OK.

An amazing photo. I would have loved seeing the deer resting on the beach. When do you ever see a deer doing that (relaxing), anywhere?

[Mango]

An amazing photo. I would have loved seeing the deer resting on the beach. When do you ever see a deer doing that (relaxing), anywhere?

I have a compost heap and the deer bed down in it all the time, especially Winter because it says warmer. Just this Summer, there was a baby deer bedding down a lot in the woods close to the houses to avoid predators. He must have lost his mother because the kids in the neighborhood were hand feeding it. They get used to people, and I have tried to chase them away from my flowers and have had many just stand there and look at me. I've come within feet of them; they put their heads up and go back back to doing what they were doing.

I'm no deer expert, but probably what happened was the deer got disoriented somehow and thought the gulf was a lake it could cross. I am not sure of what the hunting laws are in Sowal, but hunting season has been in high gear here, and deer are sticking really close to houses since you can't shoot within 500 ft of a house.

These pics were just taken recently in WA. I saw them on Facebook. They are not in order, but the deer became exhausted and freezing from the water, climbed onto the boat and were released at shore.

Having said all that, I have never seen a deer like that one on the beach and I am absolutely certain it is Prancer. No doubt.

[Arkiehawg]

Deer do love to eat salt and are all over the place in South Walton. The second photo looks a little posed to me, maybe photoshopped. Deer don't let people get too close this time of year.

You must be a city slicker Murray...

I've seen plenty of deer in backyards and back doors this time of the year. They get hungry and have a tendency to venture out of their normal routines.

Here is an interesting article from last year with exhausted deer "posing" after getting onto a boat for rescue....

http://alaskaquestcharters.com/pdf/d..._jnuempire.pdf

Woops didn't see Mango's post above about the same article....Oh well, here is the article that goes with those pictures....

[Murray Balkcom]

You called it ArkieHawg. I'm a city slicker.

[Bobby J]

The deer was not posed or photoshopped. He was very tired from swimming. Some people even petted him. Some of us have been checking back with Camp Helen State park to see if they had any more info on the deer. He has not been seen on the beach since that day. They think that is a good sign that he is OK.

The waves were up that day so I guess anything is possible. Come to think of it, I have let some strange people pet me to after a long session in the surf.

[Arkiehawg]

The waves were up that day so I guess anything is possible. Come to think of it, I have let some strange people pet me to after a long session in the surf.

If you would shave your back more often, that wouldn't happen...

[Teresa]

If you would shave your back more often, that wouldn't happen...

sorry, bobbyj, that is the funniest thing I've seen in a while!

[Beach Runner]

Me: Mr. Deer, please stop munching on our newly planted azaleas.
Deer: You can't tell me nothing ...

[CastlesOfSand]

Amazing!

[kurt]

The deer was not posed or photoshopped. He was very tired from swimming. Some people even petted him. Some of us have been checking back with Camp Helen State park to see if they had any more info on the deer. He has not been seen on the beach since that day. They think that is a good sign that he is OK.

Neat! Was it your photo?

[Lynn Carper]

My son, Craig Carper made the photos.