Aaron Bradley Submitted to MSNewsNowWhen Philadelphia brothers Aaron Bradley and Caleb Bradley, got closer to the object in Okatibbee Lake, they discovered it was a fawn, struggling to make its way across the rough waters. 

A pair of Philadelphia, Mississippi fishermen became heroes to a young drowning fawn.

Aaron Bradley, 25, and his brother, Caleb Bradley, 16, were fishing in a boat on Okatibbee Lake in Collinsville. The wind started to increase, so the two brothers decided to move to the other side of the lake where it was calmer.

“While running across the lake we noticed something bobbing up and down in the center of the lake,” Aaron said. “Knowing there wasn’t any stumps out there we was curious about what it could be.”

When they got closer to the object, they discovered it was a fawn, struggling to make its way across the rough waters. The brothers knew it was only a matter of time before the deer’s body gave out, as they watched its head start to go under and struggle to come back up.

“We knew it would drown unless we did something,” Aaron said.

The two fishermen went into rescue mode. After a couple of attempts, they lifted the baby deer into the boat.

“The deer was so fatigued and tired that we were able to hold him,” Aaron said. “We took him to a boat dock where there’s a lot of cover and safety for it.”

When they released it on land, the deer ran only a few yards before stopping.

“As he ran off about 30 yards after we released him, he stopped and turned back to look at us like it was him saying ‘thank you’.”