A8 Oliver Chronicle Wednesday, March 9, 2011
NEWS
Residents come together to rescue deer on lake Jim Wyse Special to the Chronicle We had some excitement on Tuc-el-Nuit Lake on the morning of February 26. I noticed an object on the lake, which when looking through the binoculars turned out to be a deer that had somehow managed to get out to the middle of the lake on the ice. How he had travelled that far is hard to understand because he could not walk on the ice. He would attempt to stand every so often, but his hooves just slipped from under him and it became quite apparent that he could not move. After struggling for a while he would
simply lie down, curl up and quit trying. I phoned the conservation people who were not willing or able to help due to the danger of going on the broken ice. We really thought we were going to have to watch this poor creature die out there. It was really very cold on that Saturday with a stiff breeze as well. At one point in the afternoon, a bald eagle glided in and landed close to the deer, probably sensing a meal one day soon. There was no change all day Saturday and Sunday; we woke up to the same scene. The deer was still looking around from his position lying on the ice. However, at about 11 a.m. three fellows in a small boat paddled over from our side
of the lake, which had very little ice at the shoreline. Another fellow was in his red kayak. When the boat got close to the deer the rescue team determined that the ice at the edge was very solid, so they stepped out of the boat, put a loop around the deer's neck, pulled him into the water and then guided him back to our shore which took about five minutes in freezing water. Upon reaching land the poor deer appeared to be in a catatonic state of shock and he just lay on the ground motionless with his eyes open. Several helpers gave him a good rub with many towels and after about 20 minutes they moved him up onto drier ground, cov-
ered him up and left him alone. He wasstill motionless, but his eyes were open and he was warm. I checked back about an hour later (about 1 p.m.) and he still had not moved. But two hours later he had got up and moved closer to the water's edge. Not wanting to scare him back into the water, we left him again, but before leaving, another neighbour tossed some apples and carrots in his direction. When I returned about 4 p.m. he was gone, the apples and carrots were half eaten, so I assumed he was in reasonably good shape considering what had to be a very uncomfortable couple of days and nights.
Jim Wyse photos
Caring residents put their safety at risk to rescue a stranded deer on Tuc-el-Nuit Lake recently. They managed to tie a rope around the deer and bring it to shore, where it was warmed up and given some food. It later left the area on its own.