Sitka deer rescued by boat in AK

Good stuff! I saw a similar video where a seal that was being chased by a Killer Whale jumped in a fishermans boat.Tug
 
In the summer of '09 we saw a pair crossing Peril Strait, where it was 2+ miles wide. Then a few days later another pair crossing Chatham Strait where it was 6 miles wide.

Could hardly believe it - how do they know where they're going? How do they avoid running out of steam and dying of hypothermia? What if the weather kicks up while they're out in the middle? It must take quite a while to get across - they don't seem to travel very fast.
 
Warren, thanks for posting. Very interesting and heartwarming story. We have many times seen the Sitka Deer swimming in these waters and wondered how often they found themselves in trouble. Ten years ago while riding the Alaska Ferry down Stephens Passage Jo-Lee and I talked to a Indian Fisherman who told us about seeing a grizzly bear in the middle of Stephens Passage and had wondered if it made it the rest of the way across.

The boat the Alaska Quest which rescued these deer we saw and talked to the owners at Taku Harbor off Stephens Passage last summer and then followed them up the Passage toward Juneau the following day. With the strong out going tide they had much difficulty getting the Alaska Quest off the Taku Harbor dock. Another boat had to pull the stearn out in order to get under way. It was interesting enough to us that I captured it on video.

Jay
 
Someone at work sent that to me last week. Two other guys I work with said "That's nice. Now they can grow bigger...". They're both avid hunters.
 
If I remember right, Starcraft Tom, rescued a deer off of Sucia or Orcas Island a couple of years back. I think he has photos of it in his album. Maybe he will chime in and post one.

He also rescued a couple of people one day too. A good guy to have around.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Blacktails are extremely good swimmers. There are a couple of islands in Prince William Sound that don't have any bears mainly because they are several miles from other islands or the mainland. The Blacktail population on these islands is quite robust. I just wonder how many Blacktails get taken by Orcas over the course of the year swimming between islands.

Also for hunters, you can't shoot deer while they are swimming.
 
Yeah, we found one off shore and towed it to shore. It warmed up and later walked off. It was just paddleing into the current, not to shore.
 
My dad was a private pilot and when I was a kid we often flew up to British Columbia for trout fishing.

One year we were trolling along on Tsacha Lake when we saw something bobbing in the water. It was a deer swimming across the lake, maybe a mile distance to cross.

I remember dad saying that on an earlier trip he and mom had approached another swimmer that upon closer inspection turned out to be a cougar.
 
We have come across moose, elk, and deer swimming while on the boat. While doing my summer captain job, I learned a lot of interesting facts, one of which: moose, elk, and deer have hollow hairs in their fur. This acts like little "PFDs" which allows these animals to be very buoyant; they can swim for a while, stop and float, then swim some more. The island we take guests to for breakfast and dinner cruises is called Elk Island. The smart ones swim across the lake to be in a place with decent food source and fewer predators. During the summer, we did see two bears swim to the island. We were told that bear don't have hollow fur, but are good swimmers due to the amount of fat they carry. Go ahead, ask me who Jackson Lake was named for. :wink:

Best wishes,
Jim B.

Answer: William Henry Jackson
 
JamesTXSD":1hhb2ttg said:
Go ahead, ask me who Jackson Lake was named for. :wink:

Answer: William Henry Jackson
Click to expand...

Jim, good thing you put that in small print :lol: cause I think William Henry Jackson a renowned photographer was a relatively late comer to Jackson Hole & Lake arriving as the official photographer with the Hayden Expedition of 1871. From all information I have read Jackson Lake was named after David Jackson of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company who was partners with William Sublette and Jedidiah Smith. My understanding is Jackson Lake and Hole was named by William Sublette for David Jackson in 1829. These Mountain Men along with Jim Bridger and many others were my boy hood and later hero's, so have read just about everything I could find about them and the country they explored, which doesn't mean I couldn't still be wrong about Jackson Lake not being named for William Henry Jackson just I have never seen it stated any where else where as have read many references to it being named after David Jackson.

Jay
 
Hunkydory":29mxvhf1 said:
JamesTXSD":29mxvhf1 said:
Go ahead, ask me who Jackson Lake was named for. :wink:

Answer: William Henry Jackson
Click to expand...

Jim, good thing you put that in small print :lol: cause I think William Henry Jackson a renowned photographer was a relatively late comer to Jackson Hole & Lake arriving as the official photographer with the Hayden Expedition of 1871. From all information I have read Jackson Lake was named after David Jackson of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company who was partners with William Sublette and Jedidiah Smith. My understanding is Jackson Lake and Hole was named by William Sublette for David Jackson in 1829. These Mountain Men along with Jim Bridger and many others were my boy hood and later hero's, so have read just about everything I could find about them and the country they explored, which doesn't mean I couldn't still be wrong about Jackson Lake not being named for William Henry Jackson just I have never seen it stated any where else where as have read many references to it being named after David Jackson.

Jay
Click to expand...

Hi Jay,

This is exactly what I thought, too. And that gets repeated frequently. The valley, Jackson Hole, was certainly named for David Jackson, the fur trapper. And the town of Jackson (not Jackson Hole, but it sounds more "western romantic" to call the town Jackson Hole) is also named for David Jackson. According to the head interpretive Ranger at Grand Teton National Park (I heard his talk quite a few times), there was a 26 year gap between the time the fur trade came to a close and the Hayden Expedition. When the Hayden Expedition came through, Jackson Lake was named after William Henry Jackson (the photographer), Mt. Moran was named after Thomas Moran (the painter), Leigh Lake was named after Beaver Dick Leigh, and Jenny Lake was named after Beaver Dick's wife, Jenny. There may have been names for those landmarks previously, but these are the ones that remain. I later read this at the Visitors Center in Moose, as well. I'm OK with either story, I just found this to be an interesting factoid. :wink:

Oh, and just for the record, John Colter never saw Colter Bay... it was dredged out in the early 1950s to create a protected bay. 8)
 
Ya, I'm OK with either story too and had no doubt you were well aware of the early Jackson area history and had guessed your source correctly, but think on my way through this year will ask for their documentation for this interesting factoid just out of curiosity. Think it may boil down to best speculation either way.
 
we both have different stories but we agree with each other?// what type of fact fight is this??? I expect historical documents to be flying around, "my grandpa knew so and so so there" type insults. You guys are down right disappointing...

singles, no kicker, north up, chart plotters, Honda, twin Axel trailer, radar over lay, espar heat, motor too Alaska, surge brakes, are the ONLY way to go. so there
 
starcrafttom":fdkyxrp6 said:
we both have different stories but we agree with each other?// what type of fact fight is this??? I expect historical documents to be flying around, "my grandpa knew so and so so there" type insults. You guys are down right disappointing...

singles, no kicker, north up, chart plotters, Honda, twin Axel trailer, radar over lay, espar heat, motor too Alaska, surge brakes, are the ONLY way to go. so there
Click to expand...

Well, Tom, my fine gentleman friend, sorry to disappoint you. On 5 trips a day all summer long, I heard varying stories regarding how Jackson Lake got its name. I had one first mate who enjoyed asking passengers questions about local lore... it made for some interesting answers. My favorite answer regarding who the lake was named after: Michael Jackson. "That's right - the King of Pop! It's a little known fact that he was the first to moon walk on the frozen surface of the lake. Well, he was actually just trying to walk across the ice and the wind blew him backwards - and that's how he came up with that move. Prior to that time, we just called the lake 'That Big Ol' Lake Over There'." :wink:

I have some stories about the geology of the area that I'm saving for Bill. 8)

Now, regarding your "ONLY way to go" list... seems pretty reasonable. I think the winter weather may have you working up for a fight. Come here, ya big lug, and let me give you a hug. :hug :hug2

:xnaughty

Your pal,
Jim

Did we stray off topic here?
 
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