Water-logged Wyoming Badger Rescued By Kayaker
FONTENELLE, Wyo. (CBS4) - A badger struggling to swim across a Wyoming lake Wednesday hitched a ride to shore aboard a woman's kayak.
Kat McConnell, a Bureau of Land Management employee, was paddling across Fontenelle Reservoir when she encountered the animal, according to a BLM-Wyoming Facebook post.
"It was way out in the middle of the lake, panting and struggling to make it across," McConnell is quoted in the post.
Badgers are no strangers to water -- they're known to cross creeks, streams, and even canals.
But crossing this body of water is no small feat for the best of swimmers. The lake is a mile wide and 20 miles long when full, according to a Bureau of Reclamation website.
"It came up to my boat so I plucked it out of the water and put it in the cockpit," McConnell said on the Facebook post. "It never once was aggressive or threatening to me because it was so fatigued. After some initial panicking, it settled in with his little feet on my thigh while I power paddled to get it to the shoreline."
She said the badger tumbled out of the kayak when she neared shore. It stumbled with exhaustion "like a drunk sailor."
"It made it, though, so I was very happy."