Close X
Thursday, November 7, 2024
ADVT 
National

Canadian Kindness: Ontario Woman Drives 400 Km To Help Ailing Beaver

The Canadian Press, 09 Dec, 2015 12:45 PM
    It was a quintessentially Canadian act of kindness.
     
    When an Ontario wildlife sanctuary put out an urgent call for someone to drive an ailing beaver to a specialized facility some 400 kilometres away, they found a volunteer within half an hour.
     
    Mary Herbert didn't have any prior plans to make the trek from Ottawa to Rosseau, Ont., but offered to give the rodent a ride on Wednesday simply because she's always liked Canada's national animal.
     
    "I just figured I could help them out," the Ottawa-area resident told The Canadian Press after arriving at her destination.
     
    "I looked at my husband and said 'I can do that, I'm free tomorrow.' I love animals. It's really nice to be able to help wildlife out. It's not an opportunity many get."
     
    Herbert had never volunteered for the Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary before, but she did follow them on Facebook, which is how she saw their appeal for a "beaver taxi."
     
    "If I can save one beaver's life, that's a good thing," she said. "There's a beaver pond where I live and that's just part of the wildlife that I see, and I like. This fellow, it looks like he's been orphaned and he needed help."
     
    The beaver travelled in a crate which was covered with a blanket and kept on the back seat of Herbert's car.
     
    "He didn't say a word the whole way," Herbert said.
     
    The rodent — which has no name — was found on Friday in a yard in the Ottawa area by residents who called the sanctuary.
     
    "He was found unusually far from water," said sanctuary board member Heather Badenoch. "He was dehydrated, he was lethargic, he was disoriented."
     
    The beaver was warmed up and given immediate care at the sanctuary but his behaviour still wasn't normal, Badenoch said.
     
    A decision was made to transport the beaver to the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in the Muskoka region north of Toronto as quickly as possible so he could be examined by a vet.
     
    The beaver would also have the option of spending the winter at that sanctuary if required because of its indoor water enclosure.
     
    "The beaver is beyond what we have the facility for here," said Badenoch. "Once he was stabilized enough to be transported, we put out the call."
     
    The plea went out on social media channels, sparked the hashtag #beavertaxi, and caught Herbert's attention.
     
    The sanctuary has put out similar calls for "animal taxis" before, but Badenoch said the sheer volume of responses generated by the beaver's plight and the speed at which the call was answered made it stand out.
     
    "I think it was because it was a beaver," she said. "The joke was, it's the most Canadian thing to happen in Canada."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Canadian Tire Takes Aim At Wal-Mart In Latest Christmas Light Troubles

    A Federal Court claim filed by Canadian Tire alleges that Wal-Mart worked with two Taiwanese companies to copy the construction and packaging of its Noma Quick-Clip lights.

    Canadian Tire Takes Aim At Wal-Mart In Latest Christmas Light Troubles

    Booze Still Drug Of Choice Among Grade 7-12 Students In Ontario, Survey Finds

    Booze Still Drug Of Choice Among Grade 7-12 Students In Ontario, Survey Finds
    The 2015 survey found that 29 per cent of 12th-graders reported engaging in hazardous drinking, and more than a quarter of adolescents said they were allowed to imbibe at home with friends.

    Booze Still Drug Of Choice Among Grade 7-12 Students In Ontario, Survey Finds

    Scientists Knew They Had 1st Test-tube Puppies In The World When The Mutts Wiggled And Cried

    Scientists Knew They Had 1st Test-tube Puppies In The World When The Mutts Wiggled And Cried
    LOS ANGELES — A team of veterinarians, scientists and lab workers gathered around a surrogate hound and watched her give birth to seven half-pound puppies, the first dogs ever conceived in a test tube.

    Scientists Knew They Had 1st Test-tube Puppies In The World When The Mutts Wiggled And Cried

    Vancouver's Rajiv Dixit And Toronto Man Arrested In $93-Million Pyramid Scheme 'Banners Broker'

    Vancouver's Rajiv Dixit And Toronto Man Arrested In $93-Million Pyramid Scheme 'Banners Broker'
    Police say the scheme — known as "Banners Broker" — was operated out of a Toronto address between October 2010 and March 2013.

    Vancouver's Rajiv Dixit And Toronto Man Arrested In $93-Million Pyramid Scheme 'Banners Broker'

    Giant Panda Cubs At Toronto Zoo Open Their Eyes, Continue To Grow

    Giant Panda Cubs At Toronto Zoo Open Their Eyes, Continue To Grow
    TORONTO — The Toronto Zoo says two giant panda cubs born about eight weeks ago have now partially opened their eyes.

    Giant Panda Cubs At Toronto Zoo Open Their Eyes, Continue To Grow

    Federal Government Starts Handing Out New Funding To Settle Refugees

    Federal Government Starts Handing Out New Funding To Settle Refugees
    Immigration Minister John McCallum was coy when questioned at a news conference Wednesday, but did allow that news could come very soon.

    Federal Government Starts Handing Out New Funding To Settle Refugees