Workers at a wastewater treatment plant in Kentucky sprang into action to rescue a deer that went for a late-night swim in a clarifying tank.
Matthew Chancellor, chief operations manager at the West Hickman Wastewater Treatment Plant in Jessamine County, said he arrived for work at the facility Feb. 4 and spotted a deer swimming in the tank, which is about 12 feet deep.
“I wasn’t sure what it was. I thought maybe it was a waterfowl, but then I got out and saw that, and then called people to let them know we had a deer swimming in the tank,” Chancellor told WKYT-TV.
He said the deer appeared to have been swimming in the tank for some time amid frigid temperatures.
An employee climbed into the tank’s trough and was able to lift the deer out of the water.
The animal was taken inside and the workers contacted Jamie Rowe with Grit and Grace Wildlife Rehabilitation.
“I advised them to keep her warm and to gently drape a towel or blanket over her so she could dry faster and slowly bring her body temperature back to normal,” Rowe wrote on the Grit and Grace Facebook page. “All we could do at that point was give her time, hope and a quiet space to recover.”
The doe slowly warmed up and was eventually back on her feet and moving around. The workers opened the door for her and released the animal back into the wild.
“You try to do what you can for wildlife because especially in this situation, it couldn’t help itself. So, humans need to realize that helping wildlife is part of our purpose,” Chancellor said.
