Rock climber's shock 40kg discovery sparks daring rescue mission in Aussie national park
"It is nice to finish the year with a little miracle."
A rock climber trying to quietly end the year in the Aussie bush had the surprise of a lifetime, when he suddenly "heard a noice" that turned his trip upside down. He soon discovered two eyes looking up at him as he solo climbed at a remote cliff face on Monday, sparking an 18-hour rescue mission.
Brett Dodemaide spotted the female goat in a four-metre deep crevice near the Werribee River in Hopetoun Park, Victoria, and the experienced rock climber quickly realised the animal was stuck — and there was no hope of him getting her out himself.
"He was just climbing in the area by chance. There's a kilometre-long stretch of cliff faces and for no particular reason, he just decided to climb at that exact spot... and that's when he found the goat," wildlife rescuer Manfred Zabinskas said.
He frantically ascended and searched for wildlife rescuers on his phone to call for help. As the daylight faded and he was forced to abandon his mission, he got ahold of Manfred.
Pair return to cliffs for NYE 'miracle'
The pair returned to the site the following morning and feared something had happened to the goat since her face wasn't there to greet them. However after a few minutes, the goat remerged and confirmed she was indeed still stuck and in need of help.
"There was no way I would be able to get a tranquilliser shot from the gaps in the rock so instead I used a long tension pole. It's three metres long and has a syringe attached to it," Manfred told Yahoo.
"I managed to do it. After 15 minutes our girl was snoring and then Brett climbed down and managed to, after some difficulty, get the rope around the goat's horns... it sounds easy when you say it fast, but Brett really did a brilliant, difficult job," he said.
The pair managed to pull the 40-kilogram goat up out of the crevice and sent her off to the vet. She is set to make a full recovery.
"It was a very exposed location, and where we were working on top of the cliff, there was a huge 40-meter drop right behind me. It was a dangerous scenario... I'm glad it was a success," Manfred said.
Sharing the amazing story online, the wildlife rescuer couldn't contain his glee.
"It is nice to finish the year with a little miracle. A miracle that will mean a very happy new year for one individual in particular – a little white goat," he wrote.
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