Brian Fogg was on his way to work Tuesday when he spotted a deer struggling to cross a frozen tributary of the Passagassawakeag River off Head of the Tide Road in Belfast.
Fogg watched it for a minute, noticing there were several spots where the ice was soft. The deer kept trying to get up, but fell through each time.
“Then it got to the point in the picture where it was just sitting there. It was exhausted,” Fogg said.
Fogg walked right up to the doe, which was so tired it didn’t seem to mind his presence. He broke the ice with his boots until the water reached his waist, then shed some layers so he wouldn’t get soaked.
The disturbance in the ice alarmed the deer, so Fogg returned to his vehicle after breaking a path from the animal to shore to watch it return safely.
Fogg, a hunter, always tries to help wildlife he sees in need, but this rescue pushed him farther than usual. “First time I went for a polar plunge before work in 10 degree weather,” he said.
However, he said he would not recommend others take the same approach. While he would do anything to help in a situation like this, he said people can sometimes do more harm than good. In this case, he said, the deer did not panic or try to turn back across the ice.
Credit: Courtesy of Brian Fogg
“I usually don’t like to intervene,” he said, “once I saw that she was done for — she’s going to fall through the ice anyway — I figured I’d crack her a path so she wasn’t doing circles trying to get up on it.”
Fogg said it felt like the right thing to do. “I don’t like seeing any animal or anybody suffering.”
This rescue serves as a reminder that ice in many areas of Maine is not yet safe, and that people should check thickness before venturing out — whether to help wildlife or for recreation such as fishing or skating.
In Maine, deer often fall through ice in early winter because freezing conditions arrive before rivers, streams and tidal tributaries fully lock up. A thin crust can appear solid after a few cold nights, but moving water, tidal influence and areas near inlets or outlets make the ice weak.
Deer migrating to wintering grounds may misjudge the ice while crossing in search of food or following other deer. Their narrow hooves concentrate weight, making it easier to break through.
Five years ago, a man in Princeton tried to rescue a deer that fell through the ice on Long Lake and ended up needing help himself.