Deer takes dangerous dip
Photo by Daniel Bradford<br>A doe struggles against the grate at the Bigfork Power Plant after falling into a draining pool.
Two unsuspecting deer found themselves in a bit of a predicament Tuesday, June 27.
While attempting to cross a canal east of Bigfork, adjacent to U.S. Highway 209, the deer were swept downstream and deposited in a draining pool above the Bigfork Power Plant.
The helpless does were discovered by two local residents who immediately flagged down a Flathead County Sheriff.
Prior to the officer's arrival on the scene, an employee of the power plant was able to free one of the fatigued deer by ebbing water flow and raising the water level. The frantic doe scrambled over a gate and on to the spillway, where she promptly regained her composure and fled into the woods.
The other doe, however, was far too spent and battered to muster the strength necessary to achieve the arduous maneuvor.
After arriving, the sheriff radioed the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department and spoke with two power plant employees.
To comfort the doe, the two employees tediously shifted her body onto the grate she had been wedged against using honey dippers —dull, shovel-like implements —and lowered the water level, stranding her atop the iron bars.
The grate is in place to keep debris from falling into the turbines below and worked equally well as a retreat from the frigid waters the doe had been immersed in for an extended period of time.
A Fish, Wildlife and Parks manager arrived roughly 30 minutes after the call and began working to rescue the deer.
Utilizing a noose, the men hoisted the deer from the grate through an opening in the wooden planks. At that time the sharp-hooved animal was secured with rope and placed in the bed of a pickup. She was transported a short distance away and released.