A mountain goat that escaped from being crushed under a Kansas City bridge has survived a rocky rescue mission and may be reunited with its owners who suspect it was stolen from their farm two months ago.
“This is a story that has captured the heart of Kansas City,” said Tori Fugate of KC Pet Project, the nonprofit that handles the city’s animal control and operates the shelter. “Forget about the eclipse. We were watching the goats.”
After Monday’s solar eclipse, people spotted what they believed to be a missing goat named Chug jumping on the pillars supporting the bridge, high above the ground below.
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The driver managed to wrap a rope around the goat’s neck in an attempt to guide it to safety, but that only increased the danger, Fugate said. When firefighters tried to rappel down the side of the bridge to catch the goat, the goat became startled and tried to jump to the next landing. But the hoof slipped and the rope got caught, leaving the goat hanging from its neck, unable to move.
Firefighters managed to untangle the rope, creating slack in the line. Fugate said the goat fell about 15 feet off the ground and landed in a spot where crews added padding to cushion the impact.
USA – 09/15/2013: Mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) at Logan Pass in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket, Getty Images)
An on-call veterinarian sedated the goat, and crew members carried it in a sling to the top of the rocky cliff, where firefighters administered oxygen. He then recovered and underwent X-rays, Fugate said.
“Miraculously he didn’t have any broken bones,” Fugate said. She said the goat was climbing the bridge support, which is about 80 feet above the ground, and she could not have been saved if she fell.
She said this was just the latest part of the goat’s adventures. He entered the shelter as a stray on March 13, was named Jeffrey, and was adopted later that month. However, he soon jumped over the fence of his new home.
“Because of his media fame, I contacted someone yesterday who said he looks a lot like the goat that went missing in February,” she said.
The family lives two hours away and will be at the shelter on Wednesday to confirm that he is Chug, the stolen goat. If they have a goat, they plan to take it home, but the goat’s adoptive owners say that’s fine.
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“He seems to be very particular about his living situation,” Fugate said.
