Whosa国际传媒檚 heard the story of a mountain goat living under a B.C. bridge?

Itsa国际传媒檚 no tall tale.

The shaggy beast doesnsa国际传媒檛 actually live there, but it did come for a visit Wednesday night and nestle in the east-side underbelly of the Victoria Street Bridge in Trail.

Conservation Officer Blair Thin said shortly after 6 p.m. a call came in that a wild goat was spotted lodged beneath the Columbia River crossing.

He and fellow officer Ben Beetlestone were 70-or-so kilometres away dealing with a campfire violation at Rosebud Lake, so they couldnsa国际传媒檛 see it - or truly believe it - until hours later.

But when they did roll into Trail after 10 p.m., Thin said they quickly located the frightened animal.

sa国际传媒淗e was quite visible under the highway bridge,sa国际传媒� he explained. sa国际传媒淚t was bedded down between the concrete bridge supports.sa国际传媒�

The goat was assessed to be healthy and approximately three years-old.

sa国际传媒淲e then utilized a jab stick in order to inject a tranquilizer drug,sa国际传媒� Thin said. sa国际传媒淎nd we were able to borrow a kennel off a local resident so we could transport the goat to an area within its home range.sa国际传媒�

Shortly after the goat woke up from its ordeal at around 11:30 p.m., the officers set it free.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 not a common occurrence to have mountain goats underneath the Trail bridge,sa国际传媒� Thin noted. sa国际传媒淭hat said, there is a healthy population of goats in the near vicinity. This one probably came from the ridge that runs in Sunningdale and behind the hospital,sa国际传媒� he added.

sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 a lot of country up there and a lot of craggy rock, which is good habitat for them.sa国际传媒�

Thin did not disclose where the animal was released.

sa国际传媒淎ny animal released back into the wild is quite vulnerable because they still have effects of the tranquilizer,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淎nd we donsa国际传媒檛 want it getting spooked by human activity or a dog, and stumbling off the mountain again.sa国际传媒�