WOW! A deer stuck in ice. Was trying to have a rare nap on a weekend afternoon and a facebook post I was following was bothering me. I kept checking my phone. Before resting I saw a post by a neighbor about a deer that was stuck in ice on the Red Deer River we live on. Being an ex-firefighter and feeling empathetic to a living-being suffering and near death and knowing I could do something about it made me respond instinctively. I filled my truck with canoe, sled, ropes, harnesses, hip waders and a life jacket.

I asked Laura to come for safety and as an after-thought she brought her camera. For bread and butter we are construction contractors but are also passionate wildlife filmmakers that have been saving animals. We want to inspire others to care for animals in distress. While helping out, Laura managed to get footage of the deer rescue. It was scary but the right thing to do. We never would have attempted this if we did not have the training and abilities to succeed and do not encourage those that do not have experience.

Upon arrival at the scene anonymous neighbors helped us as I went down a steep bank. I had to go on thin ice to try and get close to the old doe but she tried to get away. I had to circle around behind her and get in the river myself to coax her toward shore. I tried lifting her out but she was weak and heavy. I wrapped a rope around her and with help from the shore pulling and me pushing at the same time, we got her out of the ice. It was an incredibly rewarding feeling to work with our neighbors to save the life of this animal.

In a world where wildlife is being eradicated at an unprecedented and apocalyptic rate, we are motivated to use social media to increase our awareness of this environmental crisis. We need all species to survive! To this end we have produced a TV series called Wildlife Wranglers and short films about animals, please check out the videos on this page or on our website www.starlandstudios.com and support our work.

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