Boaters Rescue Exhausted Little Animal Struggling To Stay Afloat In Lake Michigan


Char Morse decided to have an enjoyable day on Lake Michigan with her husband. They were out early on a boat ride and it seemed as if everything was perfect. Little did they know that they were about to become heroes.

It started shortly after the sun came up that morning. Morse’s husband saw something unusual in the waves off in the distance. They decided to go over to see what they could see.

“He thought it might be trash at first glance, and we usually just scoop garbage out of the water when we see it,” Morse told The Dodo. They ended up finding something they didn’t expect, a little animal.

The opossum was having a difficult time staying above water. Morse and her husband didn’t waste any time.

“We both knew the animal was likely to die in the water,” Morse said. “Without any discussion, my husband pulled the boat closer to the wall of the channel, tied a rope to one of our red floating seat cushions and tossed the cushion to the animal.”

You can see what happened in this video:

Rescued from the White Lake Channel at 6:30 this morning. Poor little guy was struggling to swim in the high waters. He will be released on dry land once we get there. Meanwhile, he is catching his breath and doing fine. ❤️

Posted by Chef Char on Saturday, July 6, 2019

The opossum could sense that they were trying to help so it grabbed the little life preserver they had thrown out as they pulled him onto the boat.

His life was saved!

They took the little animal over to the shore and set him free.

“As soon as the opossum was set on the ground, he quickly moved into the woods and tall grass,” she said. “I am confident the opossum survived.”

If they wouldn’t have seen the opossum in the water, it would have been a very different outcome. Morris feels that they were doing the same thing that any person would do. “See a living creature struggling and help it if you can,” she said, adding:

“We happened to be at the right place and at the right time to help. I know there are other good people in the area who would do the same.”


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