Hailey Whitmore's first-ever visit to Buntzen Lake is one she'll remember for years to come.
While lounging on the sands of the popular Tri-City summer spot in Belcarra Regional Park, the Surrey resident spotted a deer slowly emerge from the water after it was seen taking a cool, refreshing dip.
She explains the creature appeared to look confused and a little bit scared as it was being directed out of the water near the docks of South Beach.
"It was pretty shocking to see the deer come to the shore towards people," Whitmore told the Tri-City News, "and a little frustrating with the rescue team scaring them towards shore, but overall [it] was a cool experience."
Whitmore's video immediately caught wind of social media and has since garnered nearly 750,000 views on TikTok alone.
The encounter occurred around 1 p.m. on July 28, just before the B.C. Day long weekend when temperatures reached the 30s amidst a second heat warning for the Lower Mainland.
"Everyone was shouting about something in the water and my brother was in there," she adds in recalling the unexpected surprise.
"So I took a good look to make sure he was safe when some people ended up pointing out the deer along with its baby. I’m assuming they were hot and just wanted a swim so I made sure to get my brother out of the water to keep him safe."
The deer appears to hesitantly trot onto the beach looking for a way back into the woods behind the crowd.
After a few looks in multiple directions, it's seen walking between a pair of beach umbrellas and around the lifeguard's high-chair.
It's the latest among several sightings in which an animal got out in the public eye to cool off from recent above-seasonal temperatures.
The same week, two bear cubs were seen at Coquitlam's Deboville Slough play-wrestling in the water before drenching themselves into the Pitt River channel.
