5 deer noticed swimming in Lengthy Island Sound off Norwalk seaside

While taking her each day stroll by Shady Beach in Norwalk on March 22, Sarita Cole observed 5 creatures swimming within the water. She thought they could be Canada geese or individuals swimming, however as she acquired nearer, she realized they were actually deer.

“I didn’t know if they were coming from Calf Pasture Island (but) I’m assuming that’s where they came from. But there isn’t that much vegetation there, so I was a little surprised that they would hang out there,” Cole stated. 

The deer got here ashore, with Cole describing three of them as “storming” out of the water, whereas one other two gave the impression to be frightened. Fearing that one of many smaller deer was injured, as a result of it was shaking and gave the impression to be limping, she referred to as animal management; nonetheless, they had been closed as a result of it was a Sunday. 

“One of them went running down the beach towards the pier and the other one just kind of stood there not knowing what to do … So I decided to walk away because I didn’t want to stress him out anymore. There weren’t really many people there, so I just thought, well, if nobody’s around, he might move towards where his family went,” Cole stated. “The water must be really cold. So I don’t know if the little guy was shivering because he was cold or he was frightened.” 

Cole added that she has by no means seen deer on the seaside within the 5 years she’s lived in Norwalk. However, Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection Supervising Wildlife Biologist Howard Kilpatrick stated deer swimming is not that unusual. Deer fur has hole guard hairs, which assist maintain the animals insulated, retain physique warmth and assist maintain them afloat. 

“For a deer population to expand, it’s going to have to cross rivers and stuff like that, to expand into other areas … The thing is, most people don’t actually observe it and therefore don’t realize that,” Kilpatrick stated. 

Kilpatrick added that if somebody sees a deer swimming, simply depart them be. 

“You can’t come up in a boat and try to get a wild deer into your boat, it just ain’t gonna happen, they’re just gonna go crazy,” Kilpatrick stated. “Enjoy the experience and watch them.”