Wildlife photographer Tim Cyr first spotted a Canada goose with an arrow protruding from its body last summer, and immediately knew he had to help.
He named the goose Wilson after the volleyball in the movie Castaway, and set about trying to capture it so the arrow could be safely removed by a veterinarian, but he had no idea how difficult that would be.
“He was getting to the point where it was hard to get close to him, because so many people had tried to catch him. I probably tried three or four times with a hula hoop net, a homemade one,” said Cyr. “Wilson was getting too smart.”
After a long absence, Wilson was spotted last week at Furry Creek golf course, with the arrow still stuck in his body. Because the goose recognized him, Cyr knew he needed to enlist someone else to attempt another capture.
The veterinarian, Dr. Adrian Walton, volunteered to help, and got to work removing the part of the arrow still embedded in the goose. He slowly and carefully twisted the piece of arrow, and it came out. It was a practice arrow with a blunt tip.
After the wound was cleaned and sutured, Wilson was transferred to MARS Wildlife Rescue Centre on Vancouver Island where he’s on antibiotics to prevent infection.
A wild goose chase with a happy ending!