By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
A community effort saw a young buck in distress rescued off the ice that had formed on Osoyoos Lake off Lakeshore Drive on Sunday afternoon. The stranded buck’s plight was first highlighted in a post by Brenda Lee who called for help in getting the wounded animal safely to shore.
Local residents said the deer had apparently been chased onto the ice late Saturday night by a dog. Unable to get traction on the ice and possibly with an injured leg the tired and frightened buck spent the night on the ice.
Stacy Page photo
According to Stacy Page a group of Osoyoosites then got together and hatched a plan to rescue the animal from the thin ice. The plan involved wrapping a rope around the deer and pulling it to shore.
“We gathered rope, straps, a kayak, life jackets, etc. Adrian (Bettenson) and Hugh (Jennings) went on the ice. After wrapping the rope around the deer, Nathan (Ondrus), Hugh and a bunch of us pulled them in,” Page said.
Stacy Page photo
The deer was scared but eventually made his way to the orchard across the street, she added.
The buck’s ordeal and his eventual rescue were even immortalized in a poem by local wordsmith Rob Vandal.
The Day the Buck Was Saved
The wind was sharp, the lake was white,
A frozen mirror, cold and bright.
Out on the ice, with fearful eyes,
A stranded buck let out soft cries.
His legs splayed wide, no grip, no hold,
Trapped in the winter’s bitter cold.
Too weak to move, too scared to fight,
He shivered there in morning light.
But word soon spread from town to town,
And neighbours gathered, coats pulled down.
A plan was made, a rope was found,
To bring him back to solid ground.
They crept with care, the ice so thin,
A fragile dance, a hope within.
With steady hands and whispered cheer,
They looped the rope, drew him near.
The buck held still, too tired to flee,
As hands pulled strong in unity.
Step by step, with hearts so bold,
They freed him from the ice’s hold.
And when at last his hooves found land,
He stood in snow, the orchard grand.
With one deep breath, he raised his head,
Then turned to rest in nature’s bed.
The town stood quiet, smiles wide,
Pride and warmth they couldn’t hide.
For on that day, through ice and fear,
They saved the life of one brave deer.
– Rob Vandal
Safely ashore the buck collected himself – with lesson hopefully learned –before trotting off to the orchard across the road from the beach. Stacy Page photo
