Hikers rescue baby goat stuck on side of Hawaii cliff after word spreads on social media – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale
HONOLULU (WSVN) — A baby goat found himself in a bad situation, stuck on the side of a cliff in Hawaii for four days, but just as hope began to fade, the power of social media stepped in.
The calf had been stuck on a mountain in West Oahu. Officials with the fire department, Humane Society and the Department of Land and Resources all said they couldn’t rescue the animal.
But just when the outlook became increasingly grim for the goat, the power of social media entered the picture.
Govinda Hansen of Kailua described when she first learned about the goat.
“[My husband] saw the [TV program] Hawaii News Now’s Instagram post, and he’s like, ‘Look, there’s a goat, looks like he’s stuck,’” she said. “I’m a sucker for baby animals, or animals in general, so I was like, ‘We need to go get this goat.’”
Hansen wasn’t the only one. Avid hiker Caleb Morrison said the situation was brought to his attention online.
“A swarm of people sending me the post on Hawaii News Now, like, ‘Go save this goat, Caleb,’” he said.
“And then Caleb also had climbing gear, so I was like, ‘We can do it, let’s go get him,” said Hansen.
“I’m on my way to save a little goat,” said Hansen in cellphone video recorded prior to the rescue.
So off they went — Hansen, her husband Ben, her brother-in-law Travis and Morrison. The avid hikers carefully made their way up the steep terrain
“We weren’t exactly sure how big of a cliff side it was, and we wanted to get in there as quick as possible, just because it had already been there like four days. It seemed already, like, super skittish,” said Morrison.
Once the rescuers were within the goat’s reach, they used an apple and a drone to distract it.
“And just let him sit there and oh, boom, grabbed him,” said Morrison.
It took 45 minutes to bring the baby goat down.
“Look at this little goatie,” said Hansen in cellphone video.
“So he just bear-hugged the little guy all the way down the mountainside,” said Morrison.
“I was very relieved and happy that we got him safely,” said Hansen, “and we named him Bala. Bala means ‘white in complexion.’ He’s beautiful.”
Bala is now at Aloha Sanctuary, safe at last.
“And he’s happy. We put him down in the grass and, um, just like chilled there, so he seems to be doing good,” said Hansen.
Staff at the sanctuary said Bala drank an entire bottle of milk right after he arrived, then pranced around in the grass.
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