A stranded moose calf left sinking through pond ice died, along with its mother that wouldn't leave it.
This tragedy happened after a caller was incorrectly turned away by a Conservation Officer Service call centre operator.
Both the cow and the calf went through the ice on Johnston Pond off Little Green Lake Road on March 6, and likely succumbed to hypothermia, says Conservation Officer (CO) Sergeant Len Butler.
When a snowmobiler saw the calf in trouble and phoned the 100 Mile House CO office between 5 and 6 p.m. on March 6, it was call-forwarded to the RAPP line, he notes.
"The operator unfortunately advised them that’s something the CO Service doesn't handle."
Butler adds it was also unfortunate the RAPP operator did not notify or forward the file to the CO Service.
There is "no way" the local COs would avoid looking into helping any moose in this kind of trouble, he explains.
"We do these things regularly throughout the winter."
Butler says the snowmobiler and others who witnessed the struggling calf were unable to safely rescue it due to the proximity of its mother.
They were right to keep away, he notes, as it is dangerous to attempt an ice rescue for a calf when the cow is nearby.
"We do this part of the job. In fact, two to three weeks previous, the COs from 100 Mile rescued a moose from that same pond area."
When he heard about it, Butler notes he called the snowmobiler early on March 7 and got the details.
He then contacted an area rancher, who agreed to check the pond, and then reported back both moose were dead.
"Unfortunately, it looked like not only was the calf down through the ice, but so was the cow."
Noting the pond ice in this case was dangerously thin, Butler says it can make any rescue attempt impractical, but COs do have many more tools to deal with it.
While they may or may not have been able to help these moose, COs should have had the opportunity to assess the situation to determine if they could rescue them safely, he adds.
"What we do sometimes is call Search and Rescue."
The call centre mistake "really concerns" the CO Service, he says, and finding out why has now become part of his investigation. I need those answers because to lay it on the CO Service, on the guys in the field that do their best, it's wrong."
Butler adds he advised the caller he had done the right thing.
"Please don't hesitate to call, we will get this solved and, hopefully, it won't happen again through the call centre."