On Sunday, April 29 a beaver slowly made its way through the parking lot of Waterloo’s Beertown towards the bar’s back door, apparently keen on ending the weekend with a pint.
The animal was spotted by an employee on break, who initially mistook it for a skunk and rallied some of his colleagues to help fend it off. The group relaxed once they realized they were in no immediate danger of being sprayed, only to realize they had to prevent the rather large rodent from making its way into the bar.
“By the time we got out the back door again, the beaver was right up … maybe 10 to 15 feet from our back door,” Mathew O’Hara, a manager at the establishment, told the CBC.
Sometimes, we respond to some pretty interesting calls – such as a report of a beaver who wandered away from Waterloo Park into @UpTownWaterloo. Thanks to staff from @GroundSearch & @BeertownPublic for helping get it home where, we are sure, it will #beaver-y happy. #OnlyInCanada pic.twitter.com/cZrJkwQ1ei
— Waterloo Reg. Police (@WRPSToday) May 1, 2018
“The other manager here grabbed a cardboard box and kind of snuck up on it and slipped that over top to kind of contain it a little bit so we could get Grand River Conservation [Authority] over,” said O’Hara. “But it was moving around with the box on top of it. So we got a bigger garbage bin that we flipped over and put it on top.”
While the improvised cage managed to hold the “30 to 45 pound” beaver, things got a little more complicated once the authorities showed up.
Mr. Beaver didn't get his beer, but he got himself a free ride home! Only in Canada @WRPSToday @BeertownPublic @570NEWS @915theBeat @KWRegion @wlchronicle @KitchenerPost @WR_Record @citywaterloo @CHYM967 pic.twitter.com/vWZsUd3VVO
— Ground Search GSR (@GroundSearch) May 2, 2018
The beaver did not seem to be putting up much of a fight, but it still took above seven people — including two police officers — to wrangle the animal into a cage and then stow it away in a transport van.
While the beaver did not enjoy the drive according to members of Ground Search, the animal rescue organization that took him home, he did get back to Waterloo Park in one piece.
O’Hara and the rest of the Beertown team were happy that the beaver was returned to its natural environment without sustaining any injuries — or causing any damage.
“Honestly I’m just glad we were able to take care of it and get it back to safety … When you get a beaver at a bar, that’s something special.”
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