Mama deer and fawns were trapped on icy lake. Video shows creative Wisconsin rescue
When three deer fell through thin ice at a Wisconsin lake, police used a drone to guide them out of the frigid water and onto the shore.
WBAY reported the deer, a doe and her two fawns, could be seen 200 yards from the shore in water 40 feet deep on March 15. Every attempt to climb out onto solid ice led them farther and farther from land.
According to a post from the Green Lake Police Department, after weighing their options, an officer flew a drone in windy conditions and used it to steer the skittish, exhausted animals toward the shore.
“I’m thinking, that drone, if I can do it, it’s easy enough that I can just bring it around and do a cattle drive, but for deer and just use the prop wash (propeller wind) or the drone to motivate them,” Detective Josh Ward told WBAY.
Police said it took teamwork between officers, the Green Lake County drone team and the local department of natural resources to herd two of the deer back into shallow water.
“However, the third doe did not follow suit, and the wind complicated the rescue efforts, pushing ice toward the city,” police said in the post.
Ward and several others herded the third deer toward the shore and used a rope to pull the doe out of the water, according to the police department.
Green Lake is about a 100-mile drive northwest from Milwaukee. Temperatures on March 15 ranged between the low 30s and mid 50s.
This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Mama deer and fawns were trapped on icy lake. Video shows creative Wisconsin rescue."
