[jas3]

Q: How did deer, which were not on Nantucket 50 years ago managed to get on the island?

A: Not the ferry. Not by chopper. They SWAM. I found this explanation not credible until I was talking to some sea kayakers who told me that they sometimes see groups of deer (schools of deer?) swimming up to 20 miles offshore!!!

I know that sounds incredible, but it is true! It is > 10 miles from the northern most tip of Nantucket to the nearest point on the Massachusetts coast. It's only 3.5 miles from the coast to Martha's Vineyard and another 8 miles and two short overwater hops to Nantucket. However they got to Nantucket, that's one heck of a swim! My understanding is that population pressures cause them to swim to look for new lands

It's interesting to contemplate what the genetic drift would do to a Nantucket deer population after several generations. My guess is that the environment would favor smaller deer.

jas3

[CarrotAndStick]

Elephants swimming in the ocean, India.

[Archangel86]

One year when my family and I were deer hunting, we had a buck swim a half mile across a lake after he had been hit at least three times.