A Deer Takes a Dip

It's often said that aquatic exercise is ideal: it's easy on your joints, provides a great aerobic workout and it's just fun to swim around like you're a little kid again. Not convinced? Just ask a North Carolina deer who literally jumped through a roof to take a dip in an inviting-looking indoor pool.

The daredevil deer was determined to swim in the pool inside the Ashley Arms Historic Apartments (and sorry for all that alliteration). The doors to the pool room were closed, but that didn't deter this deer. To get in, he simply jumped from a balcony through the glass roof that covers the pool.

Once inside, a security camera caught him circling the pool a few times before jumping in and swimming a few laps. He was quickly discovered by building manager Meredith Gaddis, who alerted maintenance supervisor Carl Moore. "I thought she was pulling a prank," Moore admitted to the Charlotte Observer.

But when Moore entered the pool area he quickly realized the call was no joke. He noticed the water churning and antlers sticking out above the surface. "You could tell he was starting to get really exhausted," he said. "We knew we had to do something quick before the deer drowned."

He used a net to guide the deer toward the shallow end of the pool, but the animal ultimately handled the exit all by himself: he simply walked up the steps in the shallow end and ran out the door.

"It was his lucky day, avoiding all the traffic, surviving the jump through the roof, swimming the laps and getting out the way he did," Gaddis said.

Perhaps it was luck, but it somehow seemed like this deer knew just what he was doing.

Photo courtesy of Misserion via Flickr.