Brave Man Risks Life to Save Baby Deer Stranded on Thinly Frozen Lake
A quiet fishing trip in Utah turned into a tense rescue when two men spotted a baby deer stranded on a thinly frozen lake. What looked simple from a distance quickly became a dangerous situation, with fragile ice, exhausted legs, and no easy way to get the animal back to shore.
Bransen Jackson and his best friend were out at Panguitch Lake when they realized the young deer was stuck in the middle and could barely stand. Helping it meant risking their own safety, but they decided not to leave the animal behind.
The whole rescue was caught on video, and the outcome is worth seeing.
When Bransen Jackson and his best friend went out to Panguitch Lake in Utah, they were expecting a nice ice fishing trip for the day.
They were surprised, however, to discover a baby deer in desperate need of help on the lake. The poor creature found itself stranded on the thin ice, unable to get up on its own.
Thankfully, Jackson, who also works as a wildland firefighter, risked his life to rescue the poor animal. His best friend captured everything on camera.
That trip took a sharp turn fast.
Although everything looked quite simple from the footage, it wasn't like that at all.
The men didn't know what to expect. The ice was precariously thin, and the deer was very scared.
It could easily hurt them and make the situation much more dangerous. Still, Jackson decided to take the risk to save the distressed animal.
Jackson told 2KUTV:
“I looked over there and squinted, ‘Dude, that’s a deer. We gotta go save it, of course. So, we just slowly started making our way over there. At one point, his boot actually went through a crack in the ice. So it was really thin, but I was like, ‘We can’t just let this deer sit there.'”
When Jackson was approaching the deer, he realized that the creature looked terribly exhausted.
When he reached it, he had no idea how it would react. Jackson tried his best, however, to calm the creature down as he gently picked it up into his arms.
The rescue was far from over, as the ice was starting to crack under their combined weight.
He was getting closer to a very tired animal on very bad ice.
It also reminds us of the residents who spotted a deer with its head trapped in an orange plastic container.
The firefighter said:
“I was like, ‘Man, this might kick me if I try to pick it up. I picked it up, and it was super calm, super docile, like it kind of understood, okay, these guys are going to try and help me. But then the ice cracked a bit, and I was like, oh my gosh, so I just hurried up and took off for the shore and hoped for the best.”
Fortunately, they all made it to shore safe and sound.
As soon as they reached the shore, Jackson set the young deer down, and it merrily bounded away into the wild. Mission accomplished, thanks to these brave souls.
In such situations, it can be easy to choose safety and your life over that of another creature, but thankfully, these men were brave enough to face the risks to save the distressed deer. Heroes like that don't often come by, and hopefully, more people can take inspiration from them.
Hooray for them!
That rescue ended the best way possible.
For another icy rescue, see how the crew tried to save two horses stuck on frozen water.
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