Months-long goose chase in Squamish, B.C., after bird shot by arrow

For more than two months, a Squamish, B.C., man has been leading his community and a local wildlife rescue on a wild goose chase – literally.

Tim Cyr, a wildlife photographer, first saw the goose – now named Wilson – in mid-July. He's been trying to capture the wily animal ever since, in an attempt to get the bird into the care of people who can safely and surgically remove an arrow that is stuck in the bird's backside.

The problem is, the arrow hasn’t really slowed Wilson down.

"He does everything a goose does, except he's got this big arrow sticking out of him," Cyr told CTV News.

Video and photos, taken by Cyr, show the goose paddling in water, running on land and hanging out with a gaggle. But it's the fact that Wilson can still fly that has thwarted efforts to trap the bird.

"He's just too smart," Cyr told CTV News, noting that he's been joined by others in his attempt to capture Wilson.

"We've actually herded him right into a soccer goalpost. And he turned around, flew right back out the other way. He lands about 50 yards away. Then he just starts foraging and wiggling his little tail, and the little arrow is wiggling."

Since he first spotted the goose and started "following him around" Cyr has been in regular contact with the Wildlife Rescue Association of B.C. who have sent teams out on several occasions to help try to catch the goose.

"Every time it has evaded us," says wildlife support manager Jackie McQuillan.

"The arrow is not interfering with the movement of the wings or the legs, so the bird is still able to forage. And we've seen that since July that the ability to move around and find food has been really uninhibited, which makes our job very, very difficult."

Still, there's "no doubt" that the arrow is causing the bird pain and discomfort, McQuillan adds, saying the situation also brings a risk of infection and further injury.

"It's a very sad scenario," she says.

Still, she says she is "optimistic" about the prospects of Wilson being captured, cared for and then returned to the wild.

One reason for her optimism is Cyr, who has been near-relentless in his pursuit – even taking days off work to try to help the bird.

The other is the support he's mobilized for his efforts.

"I haven't given up hope. And I don't think that Squamish has given up hope in this goose either," she says.

Cyr's most recent push to capture Wilson involved setting up an online fundraiser to buy a net gun to donate to the wildlife rescue and used to capture the elusive goose. The $2,000 goal was met in mere hours.

"The community has been awesome," Cyr said.

"A lot of people are cheering for him. Like, everybody knows about him. It's just a matter of trying to catch him."

No one knows how or where the goose was shot with the arrow, although it's likely Wilson is the same goose spotted in June in Sechelt – which is more than 50 kilometres away, if flying in a straight line.

"He's a survivor. That's how we got the name Wilson, from the movie Cast Away," Cyr says.

The arrow Wilson was shot with is designed for target shooting and Cyr suspects whoever shot Wilson was not actually hunting at the time.

Regardless of how the goose got shot, Cyr says he thinks the situation is "horrible."

"I'd like to catch the person and shoot him in the butt with the arrow."