Stuck deer in lake creates excitement

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 19, 2001

Proof that the ice on Fountain Lake is unsafe for people and animals, especially deer, came just after 8 a.

Wednesday, December 19, 2001

Proof that the ice on Fountain Lake is unsafe for people and animals, especially deer, came just after 8 a.m. Tuesday.

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A bewildered deer, described by witnesses as a 10-point buck, decided to take a shortcut across the lake ice near the corner of Abbott Street and Lakeview Boulevard. However, the half-inch ice covering didn’t provide the required walking or running surface and the deer had to prove he could swim.

Meanwhile, the swimming deer in the lake provided an interesting sight for the students at Lakeview Elementary School as they sat and stood on the slope overlooking the lake like spectators. This ended with the bell summoning the students to their first classes of the day.

The deer became like an icebreaker as he forged ahead, His logical place to get out of the chilly lake and onto shore would have been going straight east to the Park Avenue Peninsula. Instead, the deer decided to switch direction and start an endurance swim north towards Shoreland Heights.

About this time the Albert Lea Fire Department decided to see if the deer could be rescued. A small boat with two firemen as its crew went into the lake at the end of Mariners Lane.

The firemen went around the end of Park Avenue Point, came fairly close to the deer, then turned north to break a path through the ice towards Lake Shore Drive in Shoreland Heights. Then the boat went around behind the deer and gently herded the animal through the newly created watery lane to the shore.

According to one of the firemen, the deer barely made it to shore about 9 a.m. He said the deer climbed up the beach and then collapsed &uot;like a newborn fawn.&uot;

City police officers closed off a portion of Lake Shore Drive for a short time to keep people away from the deer lying on the ground, and to hopefully prevent it from becoming excited enough to take another swim across the lake.