Colorado fire and rescue team saves elk from frozen lake
The elk was cold, but appeared healthy otherwise when it eventually walked back to join its herd.
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A Colorado fire/rescue team worked to save an elk that had fallen through the ice of a frozen pond on Monday.
"Another elk ignored warnings, and fell through the ice on a pond this afternoon," The Evergreen Fire/Rescue team said in a Facebook post. "Firefighters rescued the elk after neighbors called 911."
"The elk was cold, but appeared healthy otherwise when it eventually walked back to join its herd," Evergreen Public Information Officer Einar Jensen told Fox News Digital.
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"We're grateful the neighbors called 911 and let our trained and equipped firefighters rescue the elk," Jensen told Fox News Digital. "Our firefighters will perform these animal rescues to prevent well-intentioned civilians from venturing onto thin ice and potentially needing rescue themselves."
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Unfortunately animals falling through the ice is a common occurrence during winter. In 2016 a herd of 41 elk fell through the ice in East Oregon and in 2022 four horses fell through a frozen pond in Montana.
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Evergreen Colorado Fire/Rescue team saves an elk that fell through the ice (Evergreen Fire/Rescue)
If your pet happens to fall through the ice, fire/rescue teams recommend remaining calm and reaching out to your local fire department. They also emphasize the importance of keeping your pet on leash when near bodies of water.
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Fire departments have released guides on how to avoid and survive a fall through the ice. Some of the most important tips are: do not go onto the ice alone, do not attempt to swim to other parts of the ice, and be wary of darker ice.
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"Ice safety is simple: Stay off the ice," Jensen told Fox News Digital. "In springtime, pond and lake ice melt, but they also decay into shallow, fragile layers that aren't visible from the surface. Stay off the ice and call 911 if you see a person or critter fall through the ice."