Deer seen swimming in SF Bay far from shore

"A video from a passenger on a San Francisco Ferry showed an unusual sight on the water this week: a deer swimming through the cold waters of the bay. In a video posted by Congressman Jared Huffman, the deer paddles close to the ferry and seemingly very far from the shoreline. Huffman said in the post that his daughter captured the unusual video this week, writing, "Look closely, it's not a whale that caused the boat to suddenly slow down, and it's not AI, it's something 'deer' to all of us!""

"The video comes months after a coyote was spotted swimming out to Alcatraz in January, marking the first time that species was seen making the dangerous trek. Initially, experts believed that the coyote made the relatively short swim from San Francisco but later discovered the animal had actually made an arduous 2-mile swim from Angel Island. The animal has yet to be captured and removed from the island."

"However, unlike coyotes, deer are actually known to be good swimmers and have been spotted in California waters before. In 2024, a deer was caught "body surfing" at Seacliff State Beach in Santa Cruz County, according to KSBW-TV. Last year, a deer was spotted swimming in Inverness. On Angel Island, deer and raccoons are the only large land animals present since they are "excellent swimmers," California State Parks says."

"It's not clear from the video where the swimming deer was heading or how far they were from shore. Emails to Huffman's office were not been returned by the time of publication. A spokesperson for San Francisco Bay Ferry said he had not heard of the incident and could not recall a deer swimming in San Francisco Bay previously."

A passenger video from a San Francisco Ferry shows a deer swimming through cold waters of the bay, paddling close to the ferry and appearing far from shore. Congressman Jared Huffman shared the clip, saying his daughter captured it and noting it was not a whale or AI. The sight follows earlier reports of a coyote swimming toward Alcatraz, later found to have traveled about two miles from Angel Island. Deer are known to swim well and have been seen in California waters before, including body surfing at Seacliff State Beach and swimming in Inverness. California State Parks notes that deer and raccoons are among the only large land animals on Angel Island because they are excellent swimmers. The deer’s destination and distance from shore are unclear, and ferry officials reported no prior knowledge of such an incident.

Read at SFGATE