A relaxing boating trip near Jupiter, Florida, turned into an unexpected animal rescue when Galina Ruban and a group of friends spotted a tiny creature swimming in the middle of an inlet.
At first, only its furry face was visible above the water, leading everyone to believe they had come across an otter. But a closer look revealed something surprising: two unmistakably long ears.
The mysterious swimmer was actually a rabbit.
“He was in the middle of the inlet,” Ruban later shared online.
Ruban, a video producer and the founder of GeGe Productions, filmed the unusual encounter as the group tried to figure out how the rabbit had ended up so far from shore.
Exactly how he got there remains a mystery. One possibility suggested by viewers is that a bird of prey may have been carrying the rabbit before accidentally dropping him into the water.
Regardless of how it happened, the group quickly became concerned that the rabbit might be too tired to swim all the way back to land.
Rather than leave him struggling, they brought him onto the boat and transported him safely back to dry ground.
The unexpected rescue ended on a happy note.
“So we saved the little guy,” Ruban wrote afterward. “I think we got there just in time.”