Canuck the Crow has made headlines for some of his quirky antics, but the bird is allegedly facing threats to his safety after he attacked a mail carrier.
Shawn Bergman, who describes himself as Canuck’s friend, wrote in a Facebook post on Friday that the crow, often seen around East Vancouver, bit a mailman around two months ago during nesting season.
“He had an encounter with the mailman where he ended up biting him and causing bleeding, which I’m obviously not pleased with,” Bergman told Global News. “He’s just defending his nest. It’s just territorial instincts.
“Because of that, the mail hasn’t been getting delivered for quite some time now.”
Bergman said his residence and two others have been impacted, leaving 12 people without home mail delivery.
He said his efforts to resolve the situation have been met with a “cold, corporate response.”
WATCH: A look back at Canuck the Crow
Bergman received a response from Canada Post that read, in part:
“We take customer concerns and the safety of our employees very seriously. In the absence of this being classified as a pet and a pet owner who will take full responsibility for its actions, we are leaving the matter to authorities who deal with wildlife. In the absence of that, we are safeguarding our employees by not delivering to areas where the crow has been known to attack until such time as the hazard no longer exists.”
Bergman said the lack of home delivery has created “a little bit of stress” in the neighbourhood and that he has “heard subtle and not-so-subtle threats towards Canuck.”
Bergman told Global News that someone told his landlord’s son, “I want to kill the crow, but I know that I can’t.” He said that he feels Canuck’s “fame” has helped keep the bird safe.
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.
In March, Canuck was attacked by someone with a flagpole.
— With files from Ted Field and Julia Foy