A herd of elk crossing the Bow River on Sunday morning caught the eye of wildlife photographer Hunter Scrimshaw.┬а
He stopped to snap a few images of the herd near Mount Rundle in Banff, Alta., not far from the town’s pedestrian bridge.
While he was checking his shots, he heard a loud crack.┬а
“Sure enough, I look back and one of the calves had fallen through the ice,” he said.┬а
The calf began to struggle in the frigid water, kicking to keep its head above the surface.┬а
The commotion startled the herd, Scrimshaw said, noting they looked confused for a moment before moving on, leaving the calf behind.┬а
WATCH┬а| An Elk calf is rescued after falling through a frozen river
Wildlife photographer Hunter Scrimshaw heard a loud crack when he saw elk crossing the Bow River on Sunday morning
Scrimshaw urged someone to call Parks Canada. Within minutes, crews responded and called for backup.┬а
“It was amazing to see them jump into action,” he said. “Clearly they had done this before.”┬а
Scrimshaw filmed the rescue, capturing the moment when crews put straps around the calf’s head and pulled it from the river, with cheers erupting from onlookers тАФ Scrimshaw included.┬а
Using a sled, the crews dragged the calf to the shoreline, where they wrapped the tired animal in fire blankets.┬а
After roughly 20 minutes, the calf was able to walk and rejoin its herd along the riverbank.┬а
Scrimshaw estimated that from start to finish, the rescue took less than an hour.
Parks Canada confirmed to CBC News that its crews responded.┬а
“There is a reality to it, if it happened anywhere else, maybe it wouldn’t have been such a happy moment, but for me, I was so stoked to know that Parks has a plan,” Scrimshaw said. “So I was happy to be there and capture that moment.”┬а
According to Parks Canada, elk are the most numerous large animal in Banff National Park.┬а
Officials estimate that over 200 elk live in the lower Bow Valley near the town of Banff.┬а
