Stag goes swimming off Scottish island

Passengers on a boat trip off Scotland's west coast stopped to watch a red deer stag wander to the water's edge, and then jump in and swim to the far shore.

Boat captain Harold Hastie said it was a magnificent sight.

"I just saw these antlers moving in amongst the rocks as we went through the channel.

"We probably got about 40 feet away from him. He was sitting on the island, then he stood up, wandered down, and then he jumped into the water and swam away. Beautiful sight. It was really lovely to see."

The unexpected swimmer was seen off the coast of Ardbeg, Islay.

A team from Islay Sea Adventures were out gathering material for the business when the stag stopped them in their tracks.

"Everybody that was on board got great videos and something to treasure because you probably won't see that again," said Harold.

  • Subsection
  • Published