A young deer was minutes from dying when two men pulled her out of an icy lake and into the safety of their boat. The men, Frankie Florida of the Strong Island Animal Rescue League and Ryan Gilmartin of the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center, had to break the ice on the surface of the lake little by little as they tried reach the deer, which had fallen through the ice far from the shore.
Videos by Outdoors
Someone initially spotted the young deer stranded on the icy lake, slipping around and unable to get off. As rescuers were on their way, the deer fell through into the frigid water and was treading water. Unfortunately, the ice on the lake was too thin to walk across but thick enough to keep a boat from moving through. Florida had to smash the ice by hand as Gilmartin propelled the boat forward, inching closer and closer to the struggling deer.
Watch the dramatic and touching rescue of a young deer from an icy lake here:
See a local news report here: