After a number of residents went out onto a frozen waterway in Calgary to try to rescue an injured deer, the fire department says the group made the wrong call.
Early Thursday morning, people gathered at a pond near Nose Hill Drive N.W. after an injured deer was spotted on the frozen surface.
Officials say the animal had likely made its way there after it had been hit by a car.
While authorities had already been called to the scene, a number of people from the group decided to take matters into their own hands to help the animal back to shore.
Carol Henke, with the Calgary Fire Department, disagreed with the effort and said it was lucky that no one ended up falling through the ice.
“People really put themselves at risk if they venture out on the ice and don’t know how thick it is. They could easily fall through and now it creates a much more serious situation.”
The deer hadn’t broken through the ice either, but Henke says that the surface on unknown bodies of water is still unpredictable and could break at any time.
Fish and Wildlife officers, arriving at the scene soon afterwards, ended up euthanizing the injured deer.
