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.