KAUKAUNA, WI (WTAQ) – Officials say a deer was apparently unharmed after getting stuck in a Fox River canal in downtown Kaukauna.
A caller reported the deer in the power canal under the Crooks Avenue bridge just before 8:30 a.m. Monday. Police officers found that the buck couldn’t get out because the canal was surrounded by 3-to-4-foot high walls.
Authorities contacted Kaukauna Utilities to turn off turbines in the canal so it would be safe to go rescue the deer. They decided not to try and rope it from land because they felt the ropes would make it too difficult to deal with the animal once it got onto dry land.
Firefighters used an inflatable boat, covered the deer’s head with a blanket, then grabbed it by the antlers and pulled it to rescuers on land. Authorities say once on land, the deer ran off.
The Wisconsin DNR helped with the rescue, which took about an hour.
