It was beaver fever in Calgary on Sunday, as city crews, police and even a surfer worked together to rescue one of Canada’s most famous rodents from a storm drain.
Someone near Harvie Passage on the Bow River saw that the creature needed help and called police at 11:40 a.m.
Officers arrived at 12:10 p.m. and received help from City of Calgary Water Services to undo bolts on the grate above the drain.
Calgary Police Service Const. Chris Martin and his partner removed the grate with assistance from city staff and a person “who was surfing in the passage.”
After being stuck for “at least a few hours” or possibly overnight, the beaver was freed at 2 p.m., Martin said.
In his nine years with CPS, Martin hasn’t encountered something quite like this before.
“It is the first beaver I’ve ever rescued but it’s a nice change of pace, and my partner and I are glad we could help it out,” he said in a statement to Global News.