From the boat, they saw only a tiny gray spot struggling to stay afloat in Dale Hollow Lake, in the United States. It looked like a lost kitten in the middle of the water, so the family did not hesitate: they put together a makeshift container and carefully brought it aboard.
When they finally had it close, they realized it was not a cat at all. It was a wild lynx, exhausted and hypothermic after who knows how long swimming alone, far from any shore. These felines do know how to swim, but encountering one far out at sea is so rare that even specialists are surprised.
They rescued it in time, and that is what matters. But experts insist on one point: when a wild animal is in distress, the right thing to do is notify the environmental authorities and avoid handling it or surrounding it with noise, because fear can be just as dangerous for it as the water itself.