Boris the meerkat saved by brave skipper

With the hot weather we have recently enjoyed, many of us may have been tempted to take a dip in the sea, but it was almost the end for one meerkat in Cornwall after he plunged 30ft off the side of a boat.

Boris had only recently arrived in Penzance aboard the Gry Maritha when he made a bid for freedom when he broke out of his cage with his travelling companion Doris.

The pair had been making a trip from the Isles of Scilly to Axe Valley Zoo in Axminster, Devon when the escape attempt took place.

Thankfully the ship’s skipper Tom Sexton acted quickly, stripping down to his boxers and plunging into the sea to rescue the furry getaway.

Speaking with the Metro, Tom said: “I think the owner originally had four of them in a sort of little petting zoo at his council house.

‘Two of them were in this cat carrier style box but managed to figure out how to break out while we were sailing.

‘The two of them were just running around the deck, but there were all kinds of cars and crates they kept hiding under, so we decided to leave it until we got into port.

“Eventually after mooring, we all got out brooms and gloves and the five of us started running around the deck trying to catch them.

“We managed to get the first one, but the second one jumped overboard. I was actually pretty impressed at how good a swimmer he was, but he seemed to be in a bit of trouble.

“I decided I’d jump in and grab him so I stripped off down to my boxers and put on some gloves to go get him, I knew they could be quite nippy.

“I was surprised how easy it was to get him though. We then put him back in his box and hoisted him back onto the deck.”