“Birds don’t have ears like that …”
Wildlife Photographer Recalls the Surreal Moment He Saw Deer Swimming Across the Cape Cod Canal
Nearly two decades ago, John Doble had an encounter that left him doing a double take — and questioning everything he knew about wildlife.
Then just a fisherman casting lines with friends along the Cape Cod Canal, Doble noticed what looked like “two very large birds” gliding through the water toward him. But something didn’t quite add up.
“As they got closer, I thought, ‘Birds don’t have ears like that,’” Doble told The Dodo.
That’s when the truth clicked: They weren’t birds at all. They were deer.
A Rare Sight at a Powerful Canal
On that day near the Bourne Bridge, Doble and his friends stood stunned as the deer swam confidently across the canal — an impressive feat considering the 480-foot width, 32-foot depth, and notoriously strong currents of the man-made waterway that links Cape Cod Bay to Buzzards Bay.
“They decided to swim across from us and climb up the rocks and into the woods,” Doble recalled.
Surrounded by two large parks, the area offers ample forest habitat for local wildlife. But seeing deer emerge from the treeline only to plunge into deep water and paddle across still seems surreal.
According to the National Deer Association, deer are actually strong swimmers — their high lung capacity, muscular bodies, and endurance make them surprisingly capable in water. They can swim for several miles if needed, whether to flee predators or explore new territory.
Nature Behind the Lens
The experience helped spark a shift in Doble’s life. He now works as a wildlife photographer, and he still fishes along the same banks. But now, when something unexpected surfaces in the water, he’s often reaching for a camera instead of a rod.
“Lots of times I have to put the rod and reel down and start clicking,” he said. “They really are great swimmers.”
Depending on the viewing angle, the swimming deer can look bizarrely out of place — like dolphin fins cutting through the current, or, as Doble once thought, giant aquatic birds. It’s a scene both disorienting and magical — a reminder of how wildlife can surprise us even in familiar places.
And for Doble, that surreal sighting was more than just a once-in-a-lifetime encounter — it was a snapshot that helped him discover a lifelong passion.