Rescuers Can't Believe It When They Spot Babies Trapped On Coal Barge

This past June, staff members at a steam plant in Gallatin, Tennessee, were stunned to notice two tiny animals wandering mountains of coal. The babies were trapped on a barge moored near the complex and had no way out. 

Staff members quickly contacted local experts. Soon, wildlife lieutenant Eric Anderson was on the scene, along with other Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency personnel.

The rescuers weren’t sure how the fawns ended up in the tricky situation, but they knew they had to get them out.

“We think maybe they were spooked on shore and ran until they ended up on the barge,” Anderson told The Dodo.

Though it was clearly going to be a difficult maneuver, Anderson was sure they’d get the fawns to safety.

“I was confident we would find a way to get them off the barge,” Anderson said. “My mind went into problem-solving mode to navigate around the unique challenge.”

Anderson and the other rescuers climbed onto the barge and began calmly corralling the fawns into a corner. From there, the fawns were delicately transferred into the hands of other staff members waiting outside. Rescuers were pleased to notice that both fawns were perfectly healthy and ready to return to the wild.

Finally safe on land, the fawns quickly spotted their worried mother, who’d been watching the rescue from shore the whole time. Back together again, the deer family escaped into the woods, surely grateful that their frightening ordeal had come to an end.