Three surfers waiting for sets at a prime spot in the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica this past weekend were surprised to see a deer rush out of the forest and jump right into the water, whereupon it walked on the shallow reef section before swimming out to meet the breakers.

According to a news report filed by Marcela Cantero of national newspaper La Nacion, the deer seemed to have no intentions of returning to shore; this prompted three surfers identified as Edwin Salem, Douglas Castillo and Jaison Shireman to spring to action and perform a cervid ocean rescue.

The incident occurred at Playa Cocles, specifically at the world-famous Salsa Brava break in the province of Limon. It so happened that pro surfer Craig “Tequila” Schieber was an eyewitness while his wife photographed the rescue. Mr. Schieber is better known as the first pro surfer from Costa Rica to win a major tournament at the international level; he brought back a gold medal from the 2011 World Surfing Games, where he dominated the masters category.

Mr. Schieber explained to La Nacion that he has never seen a ruminant rush into the ocean in the 25 years he has lived at Playa Cocles in the province of Limon. Salsa Brava was swelling this weekend, and the rescuers had been waiting for the sets to become less choppy and more glassy when they were surprised by the deer. According to Mr. Schieber, the deer was able to negotiate the rough breakers in a way that no human could:

If one of those waves breaks on top of a surfer, it’s all over.

And so the three aforementioned surfers jumped on their boards and paddled out to corral the deer, which was already swimming towards Cahuita. The strategy worked as the animal returned to shore and collapsed on the sand. Once on the beach, a few good Samaritans approached the deer to assess its condition; this good deed resulted in a cervine bite. The deer then stood and walked back towards its forest habitat.

You can see more photos of this hour-long rescue in the Facebook timeline of Mr. Schieber’s wife, Marta Castro, who is a very talented photographer.