Oh, dear. Yep, I’m a dad, and I love me some father jokes—don’t get me anywhere near the Grand Canyon, or the Hoover damn quips will start a’rolling.
But this is a not a joke—this is one of those moments when you celebrate our first responders and wildlife professionals and say, “job well done.”
To wit: a passel of deer was caught frozen on the ice and were sure to die—when the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources showed up to save them from a frosty death.
Police officers in Green Lake County, Wisconsin, found a creative new use for a drone this month: herding wayward whitetail deer.
— Outdoor Life (@outdoorlife) March 25, 2025
Drone footage shows how the officers used a drone to rescue three whitetails that had fallen through the ice on Big Green Lake and were struggling to… pic.twitter.com/o0WP2zui8K
The tweet continues:
Drone footage shows how the officers used a drone to rescue three whitetails that had fallen through the ice on Big Green Lake and were struggling to make it back to shore. The whitetails likely would have drowned in deeper water if not for the drone pushing them in the right direction. All three deer walked away from the icy lake unscathed, and the GLCSO thanked local DNR officials for helping coordinate the rescue — a first for the local sheriff’s office.
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The local sheriff detailed the novel rescue plan, explaining that because deer are (rightfully) scared of people, they couldn’t just send in a team to haul them out of the icy water. No, in this case, machines were the way to go:
"We've done a lot of human rescues, looking for people, lost people, search and rescue stuff, accident scene crashes. Never done one doing a herd deer drive with a drone," said Det. Sgt. Josh Ward, with the Green Lake Co. Sheriff's Office.
The drone video shows the doe and her two fawns treading in nearly 40 feet of water about 200 yards from shore.
The deer can be seen trying to get back on any solid ice.
Sheriff Ward said because deer are afraid of people, it prompted a different kind of rescue.
"If we came from the shoreline with a boat, they're just going to try and get away. You're actually doing more harm than good, because you're pushing them further and further away from shore. We couldn't come in from the water side because that's obviously all frozen over," he said.
OK, admit it—you're just reading this far because you just want to see footage of adorable deer being saved. I’m with you, and I shall not disappoint:
A Wisconsin sheriff's office used a drone to help rescue three deer trapped in an icy lake.
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) March 20, 2025
The drone video shows the doe and her two fawns treading in nearly 40 feet of water about 200 yards from shore. https://t.co/ShksEvemLe pic.twitter.com/Uzdh52GUjk
Major kudos are due to the Green Lake Co. Sheriff's Office. Well done!
This is one in an occasional series about everyday heroes that don’t necessarily make the front pages. It’s a chance to talk about something other than the political scandals of the day.
I’m inviting readers to send me stories of people they know or who they’ve read about who have done heroic acts—large or small, physical or otherwise—that have made someone’s life better or saved them from danger. Please email me with any tips at [email protected] or DM me on Twitter. Thanks!
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