A clever crew member had the idea to throw a life jacket down for the animal to hold onto so they could rescue it. With the raccoon gripping the life preserver, they began towing the animal back to land and handed him over to a zodiac to return to shore.

” Throughout the early morning hours of July 4, 2016, one of our team aboard our boat heard a yelping sound and at first it sounded like birds overhead,” writes Peter, one of the boaters, on YouTube.

” Several hrs later we finally located the source of the cry– a young raccoon treading water on the side of the watercraft. Not wishing to pick it up out of the water, we threw it a life preserver to climb upon and then towed it to land.”