A stranded swan in a polluted pond was saved in what a rescue group is calling its "most daring rescue of 2016."
The trumpeter swan crash-landed in a Vancouver construction site on Wednesday evening, according the Wildlife Rescue Association of B.C.
Workers saw the 6.2-kilogram (13.6 pound) bird come to rest in a pit flooded with polluted water. They believed it would take off again once it recovered from the landing, so they left the bird on the worksite overnight.
When they returned on Thursday morning, they found the young swan paddling in a six-metre-deep pit that was filling with rain water.
"The steep sides of the pit made it impossible for the swan to gain the lift it needed to take off," Wildlife Rescue said.
So the group was called into help, while construction workers at the site started to drain the pit. Their hope was to make it safer and easier to rescue the bird.
Using a ladder, two people climbed into the pit carrying nets, blankets and towels. They cornered the swan and caught it with the net, hoping to keep it still to prevent injuries to the bird and themselves.
They then carried the swan out of the bit, put it in a kennel and drove it to Wildlife Rescue's animal hospital in Burnaby.
Technicians examined the bird and found no broken bones, but it will be monitored for several days before being released, to ensure that it is healthy.
