Heartwarming rescue of red deer from frozen Siberian river

A red deer was saved by local hunters after falling into a frozen river in Siberia in a heartwarming rescue caught on camera last Saturday (November 17).

Footage shows a red deer floating in the frozen river Barguzin near Ulan-Ude, east Siberia, Russia. Four men worked together to cut a path out for the deer and pull him out of the river in an effort that took more than four hours.

The filmer Aleksej Baluev, can be heard saying: "We need to get it away from the cold."

The rescue team then immediately started rubbing the deer to try and restore circulation in the freezing animal, before warming it by a fire. Eventually it was decided that the deer should be taken into town to dry and recuperate.

In a local garage, the animal was fed a piece of lard and 150 grams of vodka, "to warm it up from the inside," according to Baluev.

Finally after recovering enough to move freely, the locals released the deer, which ran gratefully back into the forest.

The rescue effort was when Aleksej Baluev received a call regarding the drowning animal and organised the rescue team, consisting of workers from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, vets and local volunteers.