There have been mortalities associated with people handling calves in close proximity to a parent animal, even accidentally getting close to a calf when mom's around," he explained.Īlberta Fish and Wildlife recommends people leave wildlife alone in most situations, but the government does maintain a list of wildlife rehabilitation groups that people can call for help. "Elk moms can be very protective of their young and very dangerous. Gienow said his biggest safety concern in that situation would have been the parents of the calf. "Clearly that elk stuck in the mud wouldn't have made it and if mom came to retrieve it, there's a reasonable chance she gets stuck too." "It's really commendable what these folks did," said Dale Gienow, Executive Director of WILDNorth. 'REALLY COMMENDABLE' BUT POTENTIALLY 'VERY DANGEROUS'Ī local wildlife expert applauded the rescue, but wanted to remind people to call Alberta Fish and Wildlife or organizations like his for advice before attempting to help other wild creatures. "We kind of thought we gave it a fighting chance and we'll let nature take its course after that," Matlock said. "We found lots of hoof prints around, so we're hoping that the mom came and found it. The difficulty really depends on how quickly racers want to complete the race. Stewart and Matlock hiked to the spot Monday night to check on the elk, but it was no longer there. The course in located in the Edmonton River Valley so hills are plentiful. The calf was left in a field close to where it was found. It was cute."Įventually the group was able to free the animal and carry it up a river bank. "I grew up on an alpaca farm…So I just grabbed the container we had our lunch in, put some water in it and poured it down its throat and it kinda sputtered. Kayakers who rescued an elk calf stuck in the mud on the Smoky River near Grande Prairie, Alta. "He kinda hit the jackpot with us coming along: farm kids, a vet tech, people with science backgrounds," she explained. Matlock said many of the rescuers had previous experience with animals, but not rescuing wild ones. For part of its length, the creek flows through the City of Edmonton, separating neighbourhoods in the Riverbend and Terwillegar Heights areas from other neighbourhoods on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River. So I could right away understand how stuck the little guy was."Ī total of seven people stopped to help dig the animal out. Whitemud Creek is a tributary of the North Saskatchewan River in central Alberta, Canada. "When I first got out of my kayak, I sunk down just about to my hips in the mud. "He was pretty tired and super quiet," Stewart told CTV News Edmonton. A leisurely float down a northwestern Alberta river quickly became a rescue situation on Saturday, when several kayakers came across a baby animal in distress.Ĭurtis Stewart and Chantel Matlock were on the Smoky River about 30 minutes east of Grande Prairie, when they noticed a baby elk stuck in the mud.
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