Northern Ont. logging crew rescues moose that fell through the ice

A crew of northern Ontario loggers came to the rescue after a female moose took an unintended polar plunge and got trapped in the icy water.

Bryon Holbik told CTV News he saw the moose and her calf on his way into work, west of Thunder Bay, on Monday morning.

During a shift change that afternoon, he heard on his radio a moose was spotted struggling in the water. Holbik said seeing moose in that area is a common occurrence, but he has never had to rescue one before.

He was about 20 kilometres away on a logging road when he heard the call asking if anyone had a power saw with a full tank of gas. He raced to help.

When Holbik arrived, he said his colleague Darren Whalley had formulated a plan to help get the moose out of the water. Two other colleagues, Mark Wellington and Jordan Hay, joined in.

USED POWER SAW TO CREATE ESCAPE ROUTE

Because the water where she fell in was so deep, they decided to use the saw to cut a channel in the ice and lead her to where it was shallower. They ended up cutting a channel about 20 feet long in the ice and had to stop and refill the gas in the chainsaw at one point.

Holbik said the ice was about five inches deep, thicker in some areas.

The men herded the struggling moose toward the shallower water, pushing chunks of ice out of the way with a few saplings they cut down. Exhausted by treading water for what must have been hours, she flopped onto the ice immediately after emerging.

Moose pauses on the ice after treading water for hours. (Supplied)

A crew of northern Ontario loggers came to the rescue after a female moose took an unintended polar plunge and got trapped in the icy water. (Supplied)

"I've never seen anything like that before," Holbik said. "That was surreal."

After a few minutes of rest, the moose trotted off into the bush.

A crew of northern Ontario loggers came to the rescue after a female moose took an unintended polar plunge and got trapped in the icy water. (Supplied)

The next morning, after an overnight snowfall, he said he saw tracks running all over the north side of the lake. He hopes the moose and her calf were able to reunite after the ordeal.