A couple ice skating discovered a lamb completely frozen beneath the crystal-clear surface of a lake ice.

Sarah Histand, 42, and her husband Luc Mehl, 46, were skating around Walrus Lake, near Anchorage, Alaska, when they spotted the poor animal.

The discovery left them both shocked and awestruck as they tried to piece together how the young sheep met its fate.

Sarah, a somatic nervous system educator, said: "To find an intact animal like this was sad but also beautiful in a way. "

The pair had been testing the ice's thickness along the lake's edge when they noticed something unusual beneath the surface.

Sarah said: "It was surprising because normally all we see under the ice are rocks or the occasional fish."

"We've never seen anything like this in all the skating we've done. "

"There's a whole story here we'll never fully know."

"There was a mix of awe and sadness, thinking about the life it lived and how it ended here."

The couple believes the sheep likely fell from the steep cliffs above the lake before it froze, as there were no cracks in the ice indicating it had fallen through.

Algae on its fur suggested the animal had been there for months or even years.

Sarah said: "We didn't try to retrieve it."

"In a way, it's a beautiful resting place perfectly preserved in the icy grave."