What began as a routine day for three dam workers in Estonia turned into an extraordinary encounter with nature. Rando Kartsepp, Robin Sillamäe, and Erki Väli spotted a struggling animal in the icy river, initially thinking it was a dog. Acting without hesitation, they waded into the frigid waters and rescued the creature, wrapping it in a warm blanket and transporting it to a veterinary clinic. At the clinic, the surprise became clear: the animal was not a dog, but a wolf. Despite its initial calm and trust, the wolf gradually regained its natural instincts, demonstrating the resilience and intelligence of wildlife. After a full recovery, it was released back into the wild with a GPS collar to monitor its movements, quickly thriving over 70 miles from the release site.

Nov 13, 2025

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Pictures and video: men rescue wolf they mistake for a dog

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Estonian construction workers saved what they believed was a dog but later turned out to be a wolf trapped on the ice on the Sindi dam. Rando Kartsepp, Robin Sillamäe and Erki Väli are doing dredging work on the dam. When they arrived at the site this morning, the men noticed an animal trapped on the dam, swimming in a soup of ice.

The men said it took 100 meters of swimming in the icy water. “It was swimming on its own, we cleared a path for it through the ice,” Kartsepp said.

They pulled the animal, stiff from the cold and with ice in its fur, out of the water, wrapped the beast in a towel and took it to warm up in their car. “We had to carry him over the slope. He weighed a fair bit,” Kartsepp said when asked how difficult it had been to move a wolf.

After the initial critical minutes, the men had more time to look at the animal they had pulled out of the water and developed suspicions: perhaps it’s not a dog but a wolf? The men did not dwell long on the idea, however.

The workers called animal rescue and were told to take the anima to the Terveks animal clinic in Pärnu. Kartsepp said the drive was uneventful, with the wolf sleeping peacefully with its head on his legs. “He was calm, slept on my legs. When I wanted to stretch them, he raised his head for a moment,” Kartsepp said.

Specialists gave the animal a checkup when the party arrived at the clinic, whereas even vets didn’t initially recognize who they were dealing with. The matter was cleared up by a hunter who told the men had cuddled a wolf they had saved from the icy river. “The experience was new. We hope he will be fine,” Kartsepp said.

He added that they are dealing with a young male approximately one year of age. Markson said that it would have been somewhat more difficult managing a fully-grown specimen.

Because the wolf is in good condition, he will be released back into the wild today. The Environmental Agency wants to fit the wolf with a radio tracker for which purpose he will be put to sleep briefly before being released.