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The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n
Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park staff freed a beaver trapped between the railings on its pedestrian bridge over the Kaministiquia River on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n
The park, in a Facebook post, said encounters like the beaver incident are a great reminder that people share these spaces with wildlife.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of great (to) work in a place where I can start the day off by helping a little animal and watching it trot away and go about its day,\u201d said Mike Holm, the park superintendent, who had never spotted a beaver on the bridge before.<\/p>\n
Upon arriving at the park for the workday, likely around 8 a.m., Holm explained that some staff were approached by a park visitor who told them there was a beaver stuck in the bridge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Holm was one of the staff who walked over to inspect the scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe beaver\u2019s head, front legs and torso were sticking through the railing on the inside of the walkway, but their hips were blocking it from passing through, so their legs and their tail were stuck on the outside of the bridge,\u201d Holm said.<\/p>\n
\u201c(I) kind of ran back to the park office, grabbed a hooked pole we have and I used that to flip the beaver over on its side, so its hips could slide through the railing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pole Holm used was usually for picking up garbage. He said the idea was to work at trying to manipulate the beaver without having to get too close.<\/p>\n
\u201c(It was) pretty in distress approaching it with that pole. It was trying to bite us and swat at us a little bit. So (it was) a little difficult to kind of get it maneuvered there,\u201d Holm said, describing the slightly agitated creature.<\/p>\n
Once safely herded out of the tight spot and free, the beaver ran down the bridge, where it returned to a more suitable area nearby, according to the park workers.<\/p>\n
A \u2018pretty unusual incident\u2019<\/p>\n
While unsure how it got stuck between the railings, Holm said there was a vehicle bridge very close to the pedestrian bridge, likely only about 18 inches away and slightly higher, so potentially the beaver could have jumped from one bridge to the other and got stuck that way.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other idea is maybe it\u2019s on the island halfway across the river. So maybe it came up the bridge that way,\u201d Holm said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think it\u2019s pretty unlikely, beavers climbing bridges seems a little far-fetched.\u201d<\/p>\n