An Oliver work crew rescued a trapped beaver

An Oliver irrigation crew got more than they bargained for at their work site this week when they came across a trapped beaver. 

Adrian Zandvliet, a Town of Oliver irrigation employee, said his coworkers noticed a beaver stuck in the concrete canal area with no apparent way out while they were doing maintenance.

After 24 hours the animal still hadn't moved, so Zandvliet knew he had to take action. 

"He wasn't moving, he had no way to get out, there's big concrete walls down there," Zandvliet explained. "I had to make up a couple boards to make a bridge to give him some access out of there ... I had to make up a plan to get him out of there, he wouldn't really let me grab him or anything!"

A fellow crew member got down below the beaver and encouraged it to walk up the plank that Zandvliet had lowered down to it. The beaver got the idea, and climbed up to safety. 

"We got him out of our compound and he just kind of meandered away, off into the bushes, and we kinda let him be." 

He said it was "pretty cool" to have helped with the rescue, calling it a "feel good story."