An exceptionally frigid winter has taken hold in the Northern Hemisphere, and it's not just humans who are feeling the effects. Look no further than this foxicle, recently extracted from Germany's Danube River. 

The unfortunate canid met its end after falling into the river and drowning. As the water continued to freeze, its body became encased in ice over time.

According to the Associated Press, local hunter Franz Stehle extracted the animal from the ice earlier this month and placed it on display in front of his family's hotel. (That's certainly one way to alert people to the dangers of icy water.)

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Image: Sharing Alaska/Facebook

You'd think something like this would be a lone anomaly, but it's actually not entirely uncommon. At least one "glacier fox" (as they've been nicknamed) has turned up in Scandinavia each winter for the past five years running – this one from 2014 is especially creepy.

This pair of jousting moose, meanwhile, met with a similar fate when they tumbled into a river in Alaska recently:

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Image: Jeff Hickney/Facebook 

And earlier this week, wildlife officials in Connecticut had to rescue a deer after it stranded on thin ice (sadly, that animal had to be euthanised due to extensive injuries). 

The deer took to the river to evade a group of prowling coyotes, and it's quite possible the frozen fox was also pursuing prey when it fatally misstepped.  

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Top header image: Mike, Flickr