Three construction workers in Estonia go the shock of their lives when they accidentally rescued a wolf from a frozen lake.

The story was first shared on the Eestimaa Loomakaitse Liit Facebook page and I encourage you to check out the original source. They provide some incredible details and impressive photographs. Once you’ve seen the photos, you will not be surprised that these workers mistook the wild wolf as a stray dog.

It all began on the icy Pärnu River in Estonia. A couple of construction workers named RAndo Kartsepp, Robin Sillamäe and Erki Väli were cleaning the river when they first noticed the animal. They thought it looked like a dog who was trapped in the middle of the river.

The partially frozen river left a strip of ice which blocked the animal from reaching the shoreline.

After noticing the animal struggle to reach safety, they didn’t take long to decide they wanted to help. The three Estonians worked together to clear a path for the animal to follow and reach safety. When it finally reached the work crew, it was exhausted and covered in icicles.

The animal was suffering from severe hypothermia, so the crew wrapped him up in blankets and transported him to the vet for further treatment.

“We had to carry him over the slope. He weighed a fair bit,” Kartsepp told the Postimees, an Estonian newspaper.

The animal was very calm throughout the experience and acted just like a dog who wanted cuddles.

“He was calm, slept on my legs. When I wanted to stretch them, he raised his head for a moment,” said Kartsepp.

Turns out the animal they rescued was actually a wolf!

It was an easy mistake to make…even the veterinarian on staff was fooled. It was a local hunter who pointed it out. The hunter had been dealing with the local fauna for a while and was able to instantly identify the animal as a young male wolf approximately one-year-old.

After discovering the true identity of the animal, the staff housed him in a kennel as a precaution.

Nobody at the clinic wanted to risk injury and they were unsure what its behavior would look like after gaining its energy back.

“At first, he was so done in for he didn’t resist at all. We simply kept him in this room. But once he started to get an idea of the situation, I felt things might quickly take a turn for the dangerous. We got him into a cage,” the head of the clinic, Tarvo Markson said.

Luckily, the wolf recovered quickly and was back to normal in one day.

The vet bill was covered by the Estonian Union for Protection of Animals (EUPA). After he received a clean bill of health, the EUPA attached a tracker to him and brought him back to the woods to be released.

“We are so happy for the outcome of the story, and wish to thank all the participants – especially these men who rescued the wolf and the doctors of the clinic who were not afraid to treat and nurture the wild animal,” EUPA said.

The wolf was lucky to have been rescued by those kind construction workers. We hope that he is now enjoying his life back in the wild.

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Source: BBC News