A North Vancouver RCMP officer put herself in the line of fire early Friday morning - behind a confused and disoriented skunk with its head stuck in a McFlurry dessert cup.
Cpl. Sue Tupper saw the befuddled animal darting aimlessly through traffic in the Lower Lynn area at about 3: 30 a.m. Friday morning, unable to free itself from its sticky predicament.
The officer jumped out of her car and captured the skunk from behind, then pinned the top of the container to the ground with her baton and allowed the animal to pull its head free. Amazingly, Tupper wasn't sprayed in the rescue, said RCMP spokesman Cpl. Richard De Jong.
"We are out there protecting even our skunks, contrary to what some people probably want us to do with them," he said.
It's not uncommon for the RCMP to be called in cases in which animals are in distress, or in which wild animals wind up in residential neighbourhoods and need directing out of urban areas, said De Jong. The corporal said he remembered one call in Vernon in which someone threw wild geese into the foyer of a bank after they were turned down for a loan.
This is not the first time Tupper has dealt with skunks, said De Jong; the officer helped a baby skunk stuck in a similar type of cup about three years ago.
"No call is too smelly for the Mounties," said De Jong.
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS
District of North Vancouver
Regular council meeting, Monday, Aug. 29, 7 p.m. www.dnv.org Reports:
- Seymour Pub: permanent extension of liquor.
- Repeal of Community Heritage Advisory Commission bylaw 6924.
City of North Vancouver
Next regular council meeting, Monday, Sept. 12, 6 p.m. www.cnv.org
District of West Vancouver
Next regular council meeting, Monday, Sept. 12, 7 p.m. www.westvancouver.ca
