Biker rescues a calf from a canal.

October 26, 2011 3:55 PM

Biker rescues a calf from a canal. [helmet cam POV]

"This incident was taken during the Amageza Qualifier on 23 Oct 2011 west of Brits (North of Pretoria) in South Africa. I was on a BMW F800GS, and recording the event (Drift HD170 Stealth Helmet Cam) as participant when I got to this point. The actual event video clip has also published on YouTube.

The video was published on YouTube in order to publish as part of ride report on the Wilddog Forum.

I am amazed by the amount of goodwill and need for acts of humanity that exist. I am blessed to have made a difference in some peoples lives to see a different and very real world that exists and can exist."

posted by lazaruslong (31 comments total)

aww. The poor little calf was so nervous riding on the motorcycle, looked like he was gnawing on the guy's wrist.
posted by mannequito at 4:04 PM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

Man, that calf was exhausted when he finally sets it free. Lucky calf, awesome motorcycle dude!
posted by mathowie at 4:04 PM on October 26, 2011

I misread it as "rescues calf from camel." WTF would a Camel want with a calf, I wondered, and thought that this was gonna be an epic battle. Camel vs. Biker.

It was still pretty neat.
posted by dobbs at 4:05 PM on October 26, 2011

A veal act of kindness.
posted by benzenedream at 4:06 PM on October 26, 2011 [2 favorites]

damn, getting pulled up by the hooves has got to hurt
posted by LogicalDash at 4:06 PM on October 26, 2011

damn, getting pulled up by the hooves has got to hurt

Given that the alternative for that calf was probably drowning, I'm sure a little pain was worth the outcome.
posted by hippybear at 4:08 PM on October 26, 2011

I'm not sure I'd trust my kickstand/the weight of my bike to haul myself back out again. I'd be too afraid of dumping my bike in the canal on top of me.
posted by mollymayhem at 4:17 PM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

I wouldn't sweat being pulled up by the hooves. The calf was exhausted and they get rassled and hog tied by the hooves all the time. Might not do that with a full grown bull though.

It's not just that this guy saved a calf from the canal - but he saved the farmer's calf from the canal. That's a two-fer, at least.

I was visiting my folks back in Texas over the summer, and came across a goat with his horns stuck in a wire fence. I stopped and pried him loose - it was pretty hard, as he was pulling hard to get away - but I got him loose and he scampered away. It was just a regular decent thing to do, I had an ulterior motive: not being haunted by my conscience for the rest of my days.

When I was a kid, we'd roam around the boondocks with BB guns and smoking cigarettes. One day we came across a dead ram, who had his horns caught in a fence. The ground was worn smooth in wide arcs where his hooves had scraped the ground. To this day that's one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever seen.
posted by Xoebe at 4:20 PM on October 26, 2011 [16 favorites]

That's how we roll in the chain gang.
posted by sonascope at 4:29 PM on October 26, 2011

Hooray! I love animal stories with happy endings.
posted by Elly Vortex at 4:56 PM on October 26, 2011

A real biker would have barbequed that calf for dinner.

I kid. It's a sweet video, and I've been seeing it linked everywhere for the last week or so, and I'm glad it has made it here.
posted by Forktine at 4:57 PM on October 26, 2011

The guy is so fast and decisive. It's like he does this kind of thing every day.
posted by Kevin Street at 5:12 PM on October 26, 2011 [7 favorites]

I love this video! I saw it earlier today and wanted to post it here but I already had posted a cute animal link the day before yesterday.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 5:22 PM on October 26, 2011

damn, getting pulled up by the hooves has got to hurt

Sometimes they get pulled out by them.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 5:22 PM on October 26, 2011

1. Cool motorcyclist.

2. Shitty herder.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 5:22 PM on October 26, 2011

Eh, tough if you can't swim.

Although the water didn't look that deep, the biker at least had a tie down to help him up the side of the canal--looked pretty steep.
posted by BlueHorse at 5:28 PM on October 26, 2011

A calf. A man. A plan. A canal. PANAMAFLACA
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:28 PM on October 26, 2011 [18 favorites]

Oh Africa, I can't quit you.
posted by pyrex at 6:36 PM on October 26, 2011

Hooray! I love animal stories with happy endings.

You're disgusting.
posted by secondhand pho at 6:39 PM on October 26, 2011 [3 favorites]

Now that is a real man:

1. Kind to animals
2. Takes direct action
3. Has quiet motorbike, unlike douchebags in my neighborhood trying to prove virility by deafening everyone else
posted by HotToddy at 6:57 PM on October 26, 2011 [3 favorites]

The guy is so fast and decisive. It's like he does this kind of thing every day.

Quite. I didn't read the description, and at one point I was wondering if he was a farmer with a load of really stupid calves.
posted by howfar at 6:59 PM on October 26, 2011

His BMW bike weights 455 lbs (206 kg) and he tied the strap low on the chassis, so he had no worries about pulling the bike over. But he sure was quick and confident about the strap.... as if he's done something like this before? And he sure was comfortable grabbing the calf, tying its legs, and carrying it on his bike... as if he's done that before too? (!)
posted by exphysicist345 at 8:06 PM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

It seemed to me like the grabbing / tying thingy was attempt number 5. So he didn't really figure out how to get him and the calf out for a bit.
posted by lazaruslong at 8:11 PM on October 26, 2011

The strap though, yeah. But it said "tow rope? no....rescue rope!" so maybe he was already familiar with the potential load on the rope from towing and made the connection that it would certainly hold his and the calf's weight.
posted by lazaruslong at 8:12 PM on October 26, 2011

As someone who keeps a leash in my glove compartment and a rope in my trunk for just this sort of thing, my first reaction was "Well yeah, of course you do what you can to save the animal... That's just what you do."

And then he gave the calf a motorcycle ride, and I had to admit that it was an awesome animal rescue beyond anything I've done.

I like this sort of thing more than I can easily explain.
posted by quin at 8:27 PM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

so maybe he was already familiar with the potential load on the rope from towing and made the connection that it would certainly hold his and the calf's weight.

If a tow strap is strong enough to pull a vehicle behind another vehicle down the road, it's strong enough to hold a human and a cow-child. You don't need any experience to know that; it's just basic logic.

On the other hand, if someone is selling tow straps which aren't strong enough to pull a vehicle, they need to be stopped.
posted by hippybear at 8:30 PM on October 26, 2011

Related.

Also, irrigation canals are fucking terrifying.
posted by stet at 8:37 PM on October 26, 2011 [2 favorites]

Related.

Also a sweet story; it made my local paper a while back.

On the other hand, if someone is selling tow straps which aren't strong enough to pull a vehicle, they need to be stopped.

A little while watching youtube videos of broken tow straps will make you a very, very cautious person around winches, tow straps, and stuck trucks.
posted by Forktine at 8:41 PM on October 26, 2011

Achievement unlocked!
posted by Moistener at 10:43 PM on October 26, 2011

Prepared, skilled, inventive, persisting, noble, athletic, courageous.
"The Art of Manliness"
posted by Akeem at 9:06 AM on October 27, 2011

"tow rope? no....rescue rope!"

There is a difference between a tow line and a recovery line.

If you're bored, you can find videos of people failing to yank stuck vehicles with tow lines. Often hilarious. The "broke, stuck, and fucked" series is pretty amusing, too - although that guy knows what he's doing.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 12:25 PM on October 27, 2011