Helicopter pilot blows deer to safety

A deer on Antigonish Harbour in Nova Scotia went for quite a ride this winter when a helicopter pilot noticed she and her fawn were trapped on thin ice.

When a retired biologist, Ian Waugh, saw the doe fighting to avoid breaking through the ice and unable to stand up, he called the Department of Natural Resources, according to CBC News.

He captured the scene on video, showing the doe trying over and over again to gain her footing but thumping back onto the ice each time.

[ Related: Young deer thinks it’s a sheep ]

The helicopter pilot that arrived on scene, Dave Farrell, came up with a crafty way to save the deer without risking anyone's neck.

Farrell hovered low above the deer, letting the wind from the helicopter blades blow her across the slippery surface until she reached land. There, workers helped her off the ice and she tentatively ran into the forest.

A similar incident several years ago saw a television helicopter pilot save a deer that was trapped on ice in Norman, Oklahoma.

[ Related: Deer crashes through window of Ohio classroom ]

Another popular video this week ended badly for a cyclist, and possibly a deer, too, when they collided on a bike path during the Monster Cross and Mountain Bike in Virginia. The title says a deer attacked the cyclist. From the video, however, it seems equally likely this was a case of poor timing; the deer tried to leap past as the cyclist crossed its path. There's a close encounter with nature.