The Year’s Craziest Deer Rescues

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

In Colorado, a muley buck found himself in a precarious situation after wandering between a frozen lakeshore and a retaining wall on Evergreen Lake.Confined to a thin strip of bowling-ball-like rocks, the deer stood helplessly, peering up at the unreachable road a few feet above his head.

Fortunately for him, a wildlife officer and a nearby contractor came to the rescue. Working together, they sedated the deer and wrapped it in a sling. Using a crane, they hauled the animal up the embankment, snapped a selfie, and released the deer with nothing but a bruised ego.

Walking on Thin Ice

In a Minneapolis suburb, a whitetail buck stuck on skim ice was cause enough for a fire-department rescue in early November. The deer managed to shimmy his way into the middle of Pike Lake, but apparently didn’t have the stamina nor the grip to make it off the ice.

In a minute-long video, two firefighters geared up in full-floatation drysuit garbs prepare for a rescue. Then, tethered together and belayed on a rope by another firefighter, the pair crawl across the frozen lake, a couple feet apart.

Once the firefighters reach the deer, they realize it can’t stand up on the slick ice. Together, they shove and slide the deer to the edge of the lake, where it finally gets purchase on some frozen cattails and runs off into the woods.

Swimming to China

In southeast Alaska, wildlife officers in a boat encountered two blacktail deer swimming the open ocean between coastal islands. At the time, the deer were approximately four miles from the nearest shoreline and appeared disoriented.

The wardens scooped the deer from the drink and plopped them in the stern of the boat. The animals were so chilled that they didn’t require sedation or restraint of any kind. They sat on the deck, visibly shivering, for the duration of the boat ride.

Once on shore, the two deer cautiously wandered across the beach, shaking themselves free of water. Eventually, they regained their bearings and trotted into the forest.

Rope-Swing Playground

In Ohio, three guys stumbled across a stud of whitetail buck—tangled in a rope swing. The buck had one antler caught in the rope and was dangling just low enough that his feet were on the ground. When the men approached to free him, however, the deer freaked out and swung into the air. In a short video of the scene, the deer pendulums back and forth for a few seconds before finding the ground again, only to take another running start into the air.

The fiasco repeats a handful of times until two men pin the buck against a tree and cut the rope. Once free, the deer doesn’t miss a beat and takes off running into the woods.

Final Thoughts

For deer, there are a lot of easy (and dumb) ways to die in the woods. Manmade obstructions and obstacles don’t make life any easier. Fortunately, there are plenty of good Samaritans out there willing to lend a hand when these critters get themselves in tight spots. Keep up the good work, folks.