A swan now being treated for malnutrition at the B.C. Wildlife Park in Kamloops, likely never would have survived if it 飞补蝉苍鈥檛 for a rescue mission staged by some quick-thinking Shuswap residents.
Fawn Herrington and her family were enjoying a family outing to Margaret Falls when they noticed a swan sitting immobile on the ice approximately 50 feet offshore along Sunnybrae-Canoe Point road.
After returning from the falls and seeing the swan had not moved, the family tried to asses the 产颈谤诲鈥檚 condition.
鈥淭丑别 swan 飞补蝉苍鈥檛 running away, it was just sitting with its head ereect and hissing at 耻蝉,鈥� Herrington said.
The ice broke when 贬别谤谤颈苍驳迟辞苍鈥檚 husband Jason tried to get closer to the swan and when it tried to move away from them, it left a patch of feathers where it had been frozen to the ice. The 蝉飞补苍鈥檚 legs gave out beneath it every time it tried to move away.
Herrington called the RCMP, the fire department and a conservation officer, none of whom would help with rescuing the swan.
鈥淭丑别 conservation officer said there was nothing they could do, that this was kind of the law of nature and as long as it 飞补蝉苍鈥檛 close to any 辫别辞辫濒别鈥檚 houses we should just let it run its course. That 飞补蝉苍鈥檛 good enough for us, so we called Twin Hearts Animal 厂补苍肠迟耻补谤测.鈥�
Sanctuary owner Diane Nicholson said she was unable to assist with the rescue but would take the swan in if the family could rescue the bird.
Nicholson then began calling veterinarians and other people who might be able to help.
In the meantime, Herrington and her family went home to get their kayak and other equipment to help retrieve the swan. When they got back to Sunnybrae around 4:30 p.m., the bird was still frozen in place.
Jason went out to the swan in the kayak, breaking the thin sheet of ice as he went.
Having received a call from Nicholson, Joel Lafortune arrived on scene withwearing a wet suit he uses for surfing and free-diving 鈥� usually in warmer bodies of water than Shuswap Lake in January.
As the men approached, the swan began panicking and moving away, so the men tried herding the large bird towards shore.
Eventually the swan became so tired that Jason was able to loop a rope around it, and Fawn and others on the shore, including Mike and Gwen Kennedy who arrived with lights and more rope, were able to gently drag it to land.
Rescuers on shore threw blankets over the swan and loaded it into the back of the 贬别谤谤颈苍驳迟辞苍蝉鈥� SUV.
The entire rescue operation took around two-and-a-half hours and the Herringtons dropped the swan off at Twin Hearts Animal Sanctuary by 7 p.m.
鈥淥耻谤 hope was that she (Nicholson) was going to try to feed it and warm it up and then we could come out the next day and give her a hand releasing 颈迟,鈥� Herrington said.
But on Sunday, Nicholson estimated the Swan was too weak to release and asked if the Herringtons could take the bird to the B.C. Wildlife Park for treatment.
Herrington and her family were happy to oblige, so they loaded the swan into a dog carrier, covered it with blankets and drove it to Kamloops.
The staff at the Wildlife Park later concluded the swan is anemic and may have been unable to feed itself for sometime. Its leg was not broken as earlier feared; the bird was just too weak to stand.
鈥淭丑别y鈥檙e just going to keep feeding it and keep it warm and hope that it regains its health 鈥� 迟丑补迟鈥檚 where 飞别鈥檙别 at 苍辞飞,鈥� Herrington said.
The Herringtons and Lafortune said they are glad they took the time to help the swan and thanked everyone else involved in the rescue.
