An officer in training for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission saved his first life while on patrol last week.
Officer Keith Baber spotted a fawn swimming in circles, obviously in distress. With his partner steering the boat, the trainee was able to reach out and lift the exhausted deer from the water.
They brought it to safety on the river bank where they assumed the mother had been waiting. A very steep embankment on that side of the river likely gave the fawn trouble as it tried to gather a foothold.
The incident was celebrated on the Commission’s Facebook Page as Officer Baber’s first rescue. He is still in his field training period, having graduated from the FWC academy in August. He was patrolling with Officer Guy, his current Field Training Officer, on the Apalachicola River when they came across the deer.