It wasn’t a kitten in a tree, but B.C. firefighters did rescue a trapped baby animal this week. Kamloops Fire Rescue shared a video on social media Wednesday, showing a mule deer fawn stuck in a backyard pool—unable to get out on its own. “Who’s going for a swim?” One of the firefighters can be heard asking, as the fawn moves toward the pool’s edge. After getting advice to “grab it by the scruff” a firefighter pulls the animal from the water, before it bounds away to seek out its mother. Mule deer are adept swimmers, according to the Canadian Biodiversity Project. “Does often swim to an island to give birth and cache their fawns away from predators, and some mule deer have been known to cross between coastal islands up to 25 kilometres apart,” the project’s website says. Earlier this month, the B.C. SPCA issued a warning about the danger that pools can cause to smaller animals looking to cool off in the summer—including waterfowl, frogs, mice, bats, and raccoons—along with tips on how to make backyards safer for wildlife.
