Man who cut the frozen fox out of the river says he was highlighting the power of nature

The man who cut the frozen fox out of an icy German river has responded to critics by claiming he is displayed the animal as a warning of the power of nature.

The striking photo of a ginger fox perfectly encased in a block of ice made headlines around the world earlier this week.

The hunter had strayed onto the thin ice covering the river Danube, in Germany, and fallen in to meet an icy death.

Jäger Franz Stehle, who runs a guesthouse mere metres from the river edge, first spotted the creature in December.

He returned a few days later with a chainsaw and with the help of his son, he carved the fox out of the water.

“I saw the fox's back shimmering from the ice," the 61-year-old told the German tabloid Bild. “I took him out with a chainsaw at the beginning of January."

After freeing the fox from its icy grave, he said the fox was not completely frozen, as its legs were not encased in ice.

Mr Stehle said: "We put him in a tub with water, so they also became ice."

Some have claimed the incredible ice sculpture is a fake,

“So the animal broke through thin ice and four days later was cut out of ice over two feet thick," one person claimed on social media. “Something’s not right here. No, it’s a fake."

“This was not cut out of a frozen river.”

Another wrote: “Doesn't look like that ice block came out of a river to me.”

And a third said: “Damien Hirst is behind this.”

But Mr Stehle maintained the animal died of natural causes after falling in the river.

"The animal was probably curious of the brittle ice and broke in," he told Bild. “When the ice is thawed, we have to give the fox into an animal body removal plant."

And he defended displaying it outside his house, saying it was a warning to be careful of the ice.

He said: "I wanted to put it on the bank, as a memorial, so that no one dares to go on the ice. People should have respect for nature.”