It Took 7 Months, but the Arrow Has Been Removed

This was a wild goose chase with a positive outcome. A Canada goose first spotted with an arrow protruding from its body seven months ago was finally captured on a golf course in British Columbia last week. A veterinarian removed the arrow, and the bird is expected to make a full recovery. Wildlife photographer Tim Cyr, who named the goose Wilson after the volleyball in Castaway, tells CTV News that he tried multiple times to capture the bird after seeing it limping last summer. "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," Cyr says. "Wilson was getting too smart."

Because Wilson recognized Cyr and would fly away if he saw him, Miles Lamont with Terra Fauna Wildlife Consulting offered to help after the goose was spotted on a golf course around 40 miles north of Vancouver. After waiting for the flock to relax their guard, Lamont captured Wilson with a "single well-placed shot" from a net gun, Cyr says, per the Maple Ridge News. They cut off around 28 inches of arrow sticking out of Wilson's left flank and took the bird to Adrian Walton, a veterinarian who had volunteered to help. Walton managed to twist out the remains of the arrow. He says it was a training arrow with a blunt tip. "Wilson got very lucky in that if this was any other arrow tip, this would have killed him," he says.

Walton tells the CBC that Wilson—who was as ornery as any other Canada goose—repeatedly inspected himself in a mirror after the procedure. The goose was taken to the MARS Wildlife Center to recover. When Wilson, who had a large abscess around the wound area, is fully healed, Cyr plans to take the goose back to where his flock hangs out. "Absolutely amazing that the community has kind of come together like this to help," wildlife center manager Megan Erickson tells CTV. "And, you know, a lot of people say oftentimes, 'oh, it's just a goose, it's just a goose.' But to us this is a life," Erickson says. "We have very, very high hopes for him. I think he'll do really well." (More Canada geese stories.)