Two Australian fishermen got a shock when they caught a struggling wombat while fishing on a lake in Tasmania Friday.
Craig Wilson and his stepfather Bob Wilton were fishing for trout on Woods Lake in central Tasmania when they spotted the wombat who appeared to be drowning.
The pair quickly came to the adorable animal's rescue and scooped him up in a net.
Wilton told BuzzFeed News he had never seen anything like it.
"It was a pretty rough and windy day. I think he probably got blown into the water and started swimming in the wrong direction.
"At first I thought he was a platypus but as we got closer I saw he was too big. And then when we got closer I saw he was a wombat. I told Craig to net him because he seemed pretty distressed," Wilton said.
"He kept falling out of the net so I picked him up and put him in the boat. Wombats can be quite aggressive but he just sat patiently and waited for us to take him back to the shore. When we put him out of the boat he just waddled off into the bush."
Apparently, wombats are quite strong swimmers. Who knew?!
According to Sleepy Burrows Wombat Sanctuary wombats are capable of swimming but generally avoid it.
Wilton told BuzzFeed News, "I didn't know they could swim but this one was about 300 metres (980 feet) from the shore and swimming in the wrong direction so we thought he needed a hand."
H/T: The Advocate