Canuck the Crow is recovering after a person attacked him with a flagpole, according to a Facebook page dedicated to the venerable bird that has been spotted across East Vancouver.
Shawn Bergman, who describes himself as Canuck’s friend, said a person attacked the bird on Saturday afternoon at Adanac Park. Canuck flew off following the attack, leading Bergman to send out a plea for help on Facebook.
“I need your help,” Bergman said in a Facebook video. “Canuck’s missing right now. I’m worried. This morning while visiting a soccer tournament at Adanac Park, Canuck was blindsided by a gentleman holding a … flag.
Bergman said a witness told him that a person “walked by and cracked Canuck on the head with their flag.”
According to Bergman, Canuck was rendered unconscious for more than 10 minutes. He said the witness he spoke with left the park and then returned to find out that the bird had flown away.
Later in the day, Bergman posted a photo of himself holding Crow in his arm.
“Found him!!!! He’s dazed but okay,” the photo caption said.
On Saturday night, the Italian Canadian Sports Federation (ICSF) issued a statement saying they had been notified of someone “attacking a crow during the ICSF Tournament being held at Adanac Park this weekend.”
The group said the person involved in the attack was not “a member of ICSF and was not employed or directed by ICSF.”
WATCH: A look back at Canuck the Crow
Bergman gave an update on Sunday morning, saying, “Canuck made it through the night, and seems a little bit more alert than yesterday.”
Canuck the Crow has been the subject of several news stories since he started hanging around people in East Vancouver, looking for food and trying to take shiny items.
In January of last year, Canuck was seen riding the SkyTrain.
Months later, he was spotted at a crime scene in East Vancouver. Canuck grappled with crime scene tape, picked at items in the parking lot and sat on top of a police truck until an officer waved him away.
— With files from Ted Field