Ice Skater Discovers Three Deer Stranded On Frozen Lake — Pulls Them Back To Land With Rope

Jul 11, 2020 by apost team

When Ontario resident Ryan Peterson went out for a lunch break back in December of 2019, he had no idea that he was about to become a hero. This video shows bravery and human resourcefulness of a man who saved the lives of a cold, scared, and stranded family of deer.

Ryan Peterson lives in Ontario, Canada, according to CTV News. During the thick of winter back in 2019, Peterson went out for an unconventional lunch break — ice skating on the frozen-over Lake of the Woods. It was during Peterson's routine break when he saw a family of deer that seemed stranded on the ice.

“I went back to work and grabbed some rope. The ice was still too thin for any kind of vehicle, so skating was the only option,” Peterson told reporters at Storyful.

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A beautiful doe stood over two scared fawns, all of whom were shivering in the middle of the lake.

Deer have a hard time walking on ice and other slippery surfaces. It's impossible to say how they made it that far out on the lake, but one thing was certain: without help, these three deer were completely stranded.

Ryan's first move was to call the Ontario Natural Resources Ministry. He was hoping they could send someone to rescue the deer. Unfortunately, although the organization was sympathetic, they couldn't actually help. The reason? That frozen ice might be strong enough to support a person, but there was no way a rescue vehicle could drive out there.

Unless Ryan did something, those deer were stuck. So Ryan thought fast and skated back to his workplace. Once there, he grabbed a strong piece of rope that he could use to pull the deer. Then, he quickly returned to the lake. As he expected, the three were still there.

The mother deer was the most cooperative, as the video shows, so Ryan rescued her first. He looped his rope gently around her and began pulling towards solid ground.

Deer might not be able to walk on ice, but they're definitely able to slide. Ryan was able to pull the doe across the entire lake, all while filming the rescue with his phone.

Once the mother deer was safe, Ryan turned his attention to her two children. He returned to the center of the lake while the doe waited patiently on land.

Since baby deer don't weight as much, Ryan was able to rescue both at once. He tied two loops in the rope, secured it around the fawns, and tugged them across the ice. Both young deer were surprisingly patient during the trip.

Ryan reunited the deer family at the edge of the lake. After giving everyone a moment to calm down, he used a stick to nudge the animals back into the forest. Ryan himself is quoted as saying: "The two younger ones took off running right away, but the doe stuck around with what seemed like an injured hip or leg."

To these three deer, Ryann is a true hero. This story shows just how important human intervention can be when it comes to protecting local wildlife. If Ryan hadn't gone ice skating, who knows how long this family of woodland creatures would have been stranded?

Going skating on a lake takes a certain kind of bravery. Saving frozen deer takes even more. Would you have been able to pull off this rescue? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and don't forget to pass this inspiring story of heroism on to others.