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When a deer and its offspring were trapped on an iced-over Nova Scotia harbour, a provincial helicopter pilot came up with an ingenious solution to saving them — by literally blowing them away.

In January, Nova Scotia’s Department of Natural Resources were contacted by local biologist Ian Waugh, who noticed the doe and its fawn struggling to stand on the ice of the Antigonish Harbour.

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The ice was too thin for the rescuers to walk out and reach the deer, so helicopter Dave Farrell improvised a solution — using the downwash from his chopper’s rotors to push the deer along the ice to the safety of the shore.

As Farrell approached, the fawn ran to the safety of the shore, but the doe stayed put.

As the wash began pushing it towards safety, the deer initially struggled against it, but eventually gave up and began sliding smoothly.

Farrell, who had performed the rescue trick before, told CBC News that deer usually cooperate with the move.