A pregnant deer is lucky to be alive after getting stuck in the ice in Lake Rosseau on Monday.
Two men on their way to work on Royal Muskoka Island say they noticed a deer standing on thin ice about 100 feet from shore. They stopped their truck for a closer look and said they saw another deer trapped in the ice and fighting to get free.
That’s when they jumped into action. Trevor Nicholls says he and his colleague Grant Clifford found a canoe nearby.
“Grant found a life jacket and jumped in the canoe and broke a trail through the ice to the struggling deer,” Nicholls says.
The Bracebridge man then paddled back with the animal close behind.
“Somehow she knew he was there to help and allowed him to lead her through the ice and back to shore.”
Once safely out of the water, Clifford noticed the deer he had just rescued was pregnant. Nicholls says she was weak and had to be carried onto land to warm up.
Shortly after, the two rescuers headed off to work, but luckily for the deer, they decided to check back in later in the day.
“She had moved, but she lost balance and ended up in the lake again,” Nicholls says.
So they carried her out of the water for a second time that day, this time placing her safely away from the shoreline.
Nicholls says he feels fortunate to have played a role in the rescue.
“To have a wild animal allow you to assist them is just awesome,” he says. “Grant is the real hero though. It takes a certain type of person to risk their own life for an animal."
- Images courtesy of Trevor Nicholls/Facebook
