A wild lynx has found itself in a very delicate situation, after its hind legs froze on the railway tracks in British Columbia.
Luckily, the helpless animal got a second chance, thanks to a train crew who rescued him in no time.
But it was not an easy rescue as a train was about to pass within minutes and the frightened animal was quite difficult to approach.
It was just an ordinary day at the office for Coby Reid – who works as a railroad inspector in Trail, British Columbia – and his colleagues.
It was fairly early in the morning when the crew began inspecting the tracks as part of their daily routine.
The team must ensure that there are no obstacles on the trails. Except this time it wasn’t like that. Just as they approached the Columbia River, they spotted something stuck on the tracks.
As the crew got closer, the men realized there was a bobcat. Coby and his team initially thought the wild cat didn’t want to leave, since its breakfast – well, what was left of it – (a duck, which it was probably hunting) was in front of it.
But they soon realized that the bobcat was in fact unable to leave. Due to the extreme cold, its legs stuck to the tracks.
With less than half an hour until the next train passed, the crew knew they had to act quickly if they were to save the helpless bobcat.
So they decided to approach the animal carefully, cover its head with one of their jackets, and then release it.
But the rescue turned out to be much more difficult than they thought because the lynx felt threatened when the crew approached it, and it was far from kind. Nevertheless, the dedicated men finally manage to free the poor animal!
«At first we approached him and we were going to cover him with a coat,» Coby told Radio West. «It was definitely not the cute cat you see in the picture. »
The crew even filmed the rescue, and later Coby shared an update on Facebook. «I saved this little guy today, he was having breakfast (duck) and froze on the rail,» he wrote. «We got some hot water and freed him. »
