“Oh deer, we missed the boat” – Video captures unusual Hatteras ferry visitors

Apparently, humans aren’t the only species that have made a late-night arrival to the Hatteras ferry, only to discover that they have missed the boat.

Brian McArthur, who works nights at the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry terminal, caught a family of deer checking out the scene of the quiet, after-hours ferry docks as they examined the boat ramp, and seemingly realized that the midnight ferry had already departed.

Though the deer crew typically steers clear of the ferries, (making this an unusual sighting), they are actually regular visitors to the southern Hatteras village area.

“They live out on the beach, and every evening, they come out by the museum along [ORV] Ramp 55, and they mosey down to the ferry grounds and hang out there all night long,” said McArthur. “They’ll head over to the Hatteras Landing motels, or lay down on the grass – they are always around late at night.”

“But the other night, a little after midnight, they made a hard left at the ramp,” said McArthur. “I ran up there and started filming, because I knew what they were about to do.”

The video has made waves on social media, where Brian added the clever caption of “Oh deer, we missed the 12…”

Though the deer have not attempted to board a ferry again since their initial September 26 attempt, because of their regular presence at the Hatteras ferry terminal, there’s no telling if they’ll eventually try to embark on an Ocracoke vacation in the future. After all, as McArthur puts it, “Why [would they] swim to Ocracoke when there’s a ferry?”