A SCOTS islander has captured breathtaking footage of a wild deer swimming towards a remote island off the Isle of Skye.
Lewis MacLeod was left surprised when he spotted the Roe Buck deer gracefully swimming towards a small island.
The 32-year-old, who has his own rope access business, was performing agricultural maintenance on small remote islands when he clocked the animal on Tuesday.
Lewis, who lives in the Braes on Skye, managed to capture a video of the beautiful creature from his boat.
The video shows the deer swimming strongly through the ripples of what appears to be an almost tropical ocean.
Alongside the crystal blue sea, the clear blue sky makes for an impressive image of the surrounding Cuillin mountains.
The deer finally reaches a small rocky island and clambers up out of the water.
In a panic, the deer stumbles up along the uneven surface and manages to make it to safety unscathed.
Lewis posted the video onto Facebook, where some users were concerned for the deer’s safety.
Valerie Burns said: “Hope he’s okay.”
Maggie Harrison commented: “Amazing the poor thing didn’t break a leg, it was terrified being followed like that.”
Seonaid Mackay wrote: “Amazing!”
Speaking today Lewis said: “We spotted the deer swimming between two islands. It was surprising to see but not unheard of.
“There was very little grazing on the islands so I’m not sure what made it decide to go for a swim.”
“My understanding is the roe bucks can be quite territorial so perhaps it was chased out there, but I’m only speculating. I’m no expert.”
Swimming deer are not unknown to the Isle of Skye area, with other videos previously surfacing of strong deer swimmers crossing open water with ease.
