In early December 2013, deer stranded on the glare ice of Albert Lea Lake in southern Minnesota were unable to stand, let alone walk back to shore. Father and son Doug and James Kenison, owners of MedCity Hovercraft, flew two hovercraft out across the lake, tied ropes to the animals and towed them to safety. The rescue was filmed on a GoPro camera, and the video went around the world.
The Albert Lea Lake deer rescue
The story began on Facebook. ABC 6 News posted a photo of a deer stuck on the ice, and viewers asked what could be done. James Kenison saw the post and called his father. According to OutdoorHub, three deer had been stuck about a quarter of a mile from shore for at least two days.
The Kenisons drove their two hovercraft to the lake, glided out to the deer, attached a rope to the front legs of each animal and pulled them gently across the ice to land. After a short rest the deer got up and ran off unharmed.
"It's a good tool, especially in situations like this where the ice, you're just not sure if it's thick enough," James Kenison told reporters.
Video: GoPro: Hovercraft Deer Rescue, published by GoPro.
Why deer get stuck on ice
Deer hooves are made for gripping soil, mud and snow. On smooth, snow-free ice they have almost no traction, and the legs slide out sideways. A deer that falls on glare ice often cannot get back up, and every attempt drains energy in the cold. Animals stranded this way can die of exhaustion or injure their hips and legs, which is why wildlife officers treat these cases seriously.
Early winter is the riskiest time. Lakes freeze clear before snow covers them, and deer crossing a familiar route or fleeing a predator can end up far from shore on ice that is too slippery to walk on and sometimes too thin for a person.
How a hovercraft works on ice
A hovercraft rides on a cushion of air trapped under a flexible skirt, so it barely presses on the surface beneath it. That lets it cross ice, slush, open water and the treacherous mix of all three without breaking through. Fire departments and rescue teams in cold regions use hovercraft for exactly this reason, reaching people and animals on ice where boats and snowmobiles cannot safely go.
If you see an animal stranded on a frozen lake, call local emergency services or wildlife officers from the shore: they have the equipment and training to reach it on unsafe ice.
More animal rescues in the snow
- A Helicopter Helps a Deer Stranded on Ice
- A Deer Rescued from Lake Ice near Kenora, Ontario
- People Helping Animals: Separate Rescues in One Compilation
- A Young Squirrel Brought Indoors: The Rescue Photo Sequence
- Two Kittens Found in a Snow-Covered Box: The Full Rescue Account
- Rupee and Joanne Lefson’s Trek to Everest Base Camp
to James and his father, the world now knows how kind hearted you both are and a blessing to our world, if there is a God, he saw what you did this day.
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