Deer makes unexpected splash at Berkeley swimming pool

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- Some Berkeley kids got an extra treat along with their swim lessons Thursday morning after they shared the pool with a young deer who made an unexpected splash.

A photo shows staff at the King Park pool struggling to keep an uninvited guests' head above water. "Our staff, who are trained in lots of emergencies, but never a deer in the pool sprung into action, lept in the pool to keep the deer from swimming up to the children," Denise Brown said.

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Several kids ranging from three to six years of age were in the pool at about 10:30 a.m., when the wayward deer crashed their swim lesson. "No one was in danger, but we needed time to get the children out of the pool," Brown said.

People stayed out of the pool for a half hour while staff checked chemicals to make sure that any contamination was taken care of. In the meantime, staffers put a life preserver on Bambi, and tried to get the deer back on track. "The staff kind of gently led the deer to the pool steps and the little deer sprung out of the pool and ran into the bushes," Brown said.

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It's hard to find any statistics about how often deer or wildlife end up in public or private pools. But, it's not uncommon.

Video from a similar incident in Encino two years ago shows a deer in a pool, which also made it back into the wild.

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