Fisherman reels in extremely unusual catch... a live deer

Ren Dorr and his crew hauled the 100-pound deer aboard.

A Maine lobsterman hauled in an unusual catch 5 miles off the coast — a live deer. Ren Dorr says he was setting traps when he saw a young deer on Monday morning. He says the deer had given up swimming and was being carried farther offshore.

Ren Dorr and his crew hauled the 100-pound buck aboard. Having a wild animal in a confined space could be trouble. But Dorr told the Bangor Daily News that the deer was so tuckered out that he “laid right down like a dog.” Dorr says it took a half-hour to return to Harrington, where the deer was set free.

Soon the news of the rescue made its way onto social media. Expectedly, people had a lot to say about this unusual catch. While some applauded Dorr and his crew for rescuing the trapped animal, there were a few who took a hilarious route to express their reactions.

“The deer did it for a couple of bucks, realized it wasn’t enough doe and found himself on the horns of a dilemma,” witty wrote a Facebook user. “Can imagine that could have been a dangerous situation for the crew, but luckily the deer was too tired,” commented another. “So glad they saved him,” wrote a third. “Thank you for your kindness. Beautiful animal,” commented a fourth.

Dorr says that he has seen deer swimming before but that this was different. He says that if he and his crew hadn’t intervened, the deer would have been “a goner.”