The Spoor family braved frigid water temperatures last week to rescue a swan that was tangled in a makeshift float in southern Georgian Bay.
“I am a huge wildlife lover and we could not have left it to die a preventable death which would have come to it especially with the coming drop in temperatures,” said Sarah Spoor. “With no one else available or willing to help we did not see much other choices than to help it ourselves.”
Sarah, who owns a small cleaning business, noticed a swan acting strangely while she was cleaning a home in Craigleith on Nov. 16 that backed onto the bay.
“I saw four beautiful swans in the water,” said Sarah. “A short while later, I noticed that three of the swans had swum back to shore leaving one on its own. The other three swans swam back to it and again swam back to the shore. At this point the fourth swan was flapping its wings and not moving anywhere, appearing to be in distress.”
Sarah checked back throughout her cleaning shift, and saw the swan had not moved. She sprung to action, first contacting the Georgian Triangle Humane Society who she says told her to contact Blue Mountain bylaw, who then forwarded her to another number which she says only had a voicemail which advised her they only dealt with nuisance bears. She says she also tried searching online for wildlife rescue, which turned up the same contacts she had already tried.
“At this point, it was beginning to get late, and I could not face leaving knowing that swan was still there,” said Sarah. She called her husband and son as she knew they would be travelling home from work and passing her location.
Peter Spoor and their 22-year-old son James also tried calling around to find a solution, but to no avail.
“My initial response was, ‘You want me to go in the lake? In November? To rescue a swan? They are bloody aggressive; I don’t think that’s going to happen,’” said Peter.
Upon arrival, Peter says it was obvious there was an object attached to the bird near its rear. All the duo had on them was a multi-tool with a knife.
Despite the frigid temperatures and snow beginning to fall, James was the first to wade into the icy waters.
“About 10 seconds into entering the water, I lost feeling in my feet and lower legs,” said James. “When I reached the bird, it did not appear very happy to see me, flapping its wings and hissing at me.”
James said the bird had become tangled in a makeshift float made of an empty bottle and some rope. He tried to free the swan, but had difficulty.
“I had to repeatedly back away and circle the swan as it kept trying to turn towards me all the while continuing to flap its wings and hiss,” said James.
Peter then joined his son after seeing he was having difficulty freeing it. The duo worked together with James grasping the swan’s leg while attempting to cut it free, while Peter held the swan gently by the wing and neck.
“To my surprise, this seemed to calm the bird, which then placed its head against my body after I began to gently stroke its neck,” said Peter.
At this point, James noticed his hands were so cold that numbness was setting in, which made it more difficult to cut the bird free.
“I had to slowly cut towards the swan’s leg as I could not fit the knife between it and the rope, being careful not to injure the bird,” said James.
After what seemed like an eternity, James was successful in cutting the rope and unwrapping it from the swan’s leg, setting the bird free.
“We picked up the pieces we cut and returned to shore, having been in the frigid water for just over 12 minutes,” said James.
Looking back on the ordeal, Sarah says it concerns her that there seems to be no easy-to-find information on local wildlife rescue. She says she did not receive a follow-up call from any of the services she contacted for help.
According to Adam Harrod, acting manager of bylaw services for the Town of Collingwood, the municipality does not control or provide any service for wildlife.
However, he says if there is an emergency situation involving a wild animal (if a wild animal is alive and there is a public safety issue) individuals should call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
“If there is a non-emergency situation involving wildlife, where the animal could potentially be rehabilitated, individuals can contact a Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre,” he said.
For a list of wildlife rehabilitation centres, click here.
Harrod also suggested individuals can contact the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry for more information on what to do if they come across a sick, injured or abandoned wild animal. For more information, click here.
