Alberta workers free deer tangled in fence: ‘It knew we were there to help’

WARNING: This video contains some graphic images of the animal’s injury. Discretion advised.

Two men working in Vermilion, Alta. came across a deer tangled in a wire fence on Thursday and decided to step in and help.

Marshall Stasiuk posted video of the whole exchange on Facebook. It shows Stasiuk and his co-worker, Corey Dennett, approaching the deer who is laying in deep snow with one of its back legs caught in fencing. One of them holds the deer while the other works to free the leg.

READ MORE: Snowmobilers rescue moose buried neck-deep in snow in western Newfoundland 

Stasiuk said, while the deer seemed nervous as they approached it, it calmed down once they started working.

“We thought it would do a lot more thrashing,” he said. “None of us had a blanket with us to cover the deer’s head or anything… but it wasn’t really needed.

“We walked up there and it’s almost like the deer knew we were there to help.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We walked up there and it's almost like the deer knew we were there to help."

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He said the deer cooperated as they tried to cut the fence and untangle the wire. There was some blood but Stasiuk said it was already starting to clot.

“The leg was not broken. That was one thing we were concerned about. It was definitely badly cut — just from it being tangled and kicking and thrashing from the hours that it was tied up — but it wasn’t broken so we knew it was probably just stiff and sore.”

Stasiuk said they were worried about blood loss, the cold and exhaustion, but couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

“But, once he laid there and sort of caught his wind, you could see all of a sudden, when his ears perked up and life sprung back into him.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "But, once he laid there and sort of caught his wind, you could see all of a sudden, when his ears perked up and life sprung back into him.

“Once I took a step back, he could really see that. He realized that: ‘Holy crap! I’m free!’ and bolted through the same fence that caused the issue in the first place.”

READ MORE: Alberta farmer performs highway C-section on doe 

The video shows the deer running into the nearby trees, clearly favouring its injured leg. Stasiuk said it looked worse than it was. He knows the warden in the area and said they would have called him if the leg appeared broken.

“Whether or not that deer is going to live or not after the fact, people really need to do their part and doing what they can, when they can.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Whether or not that deer is going to live or not after the fact, people really need to do their part and doing what they can, when they can.

“When it is out of our hands and it took off, nature is going to take its course from there on. But if you drive by and ignore it… our biggest concern wasn’t the deer perishing in the fence; it was perhaps other wildlife coming and making it an unpleasant death.”

He doesn’t know what will happen to the deer now but is hopeful it recovers.

“An animal, even of that age, it’s amazing how resilient they are and how they can heal themselves or let time heal and still live to grow up.”