News of a baby goat stranded on a cliff in Hawaii for several days sent a group of rogue rescuers on a mission to save the frightened animal.
Four days had passed since a Waianae resident first noticed a white baby goat stuck on a steep, skinny cliff edge.
The concerned resident was first spotted on Monday and sought rescue teams to get the baby goat to safety.
Despite efforts by the Honolulu Fire Department, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Hawaiian Humane Society, the goat was confined to the towering ledge.
Four days had passed since a Waianae resident first spotted a white baby goat stuck on a steep, skinny cliff edge
Despite efforts by the Honolulu Fire Department, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Hawaiian Humane Society, the goat was confined to the towering ledge.
As the days passed, hopes of rescuing the animal from the treacherous cliff began to fade.
That was until Kailua resident Ben Hansen was alerted to the goat’s predicament via social media.
‘He saw the Hawaii News Now Instagram post and he says: look, there is a goat. It appears he is in custody,” Hansen’s wife, Govinda Hansen, told the news station.
“So he showed it to me and I love baby animals, or animals in general. So I thought, we have to go get this goat,” she said.
Govinda and her husband were not the only ones involved in the rescue mission.
Several Instagram users commented on the post, including two men who would eventually join the Hansen couple in their quest to save the animal.
Govinda Hansen and her husband Ben were not the only ones involved in the rescue mission. Caleb Morrison, another avid hiker, later made contact with the couple and explained to the couple that he had climbing equipment that would allow them to reach the troubled goat. Pictured: Govinda explains in an Instagram post how she connected with Morrison while they were on their way to the cliff
“The goat started to panic a little bit as we got closer, so we kind of hung back, slowly moved forward and kind of used a team strategy to contain the goat,” Morrison said. In the photo: Rescue workers successfully collected the captured animal and brought it to safety
After a few minutes of waiting and coaxing, the baby animal ventured within arm’s reach of Ben Hansen (pictured), who took the opportunity and “just hugged the little guy all the way up the mountainside.”
“A swarm of people sent me the mail,” Caleb Morrison said, “like, ‘Go save this goat, Caleb!’
Morrison then made contact with the Hansens and explained to the pair that he had climbing equipment that would allow them to reach the troubled goat.
The entire hour-long ordeal was captured on film via drone and cell phone video. The crew of strangers gathered at the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Center before beginning their ascent.
Morrison, who rode behind Ben on the climb, said: ‘The goat started to panic a bit as we got closer, so we kind of hung back, slowly moved forward and used a sort of team strategy where we pulled the goat into kept under control. .’
Before the group’s steep climb, the self-described “avid hikers” didn’t know exactly “how big the cliff was.”
“I was very relieved that we got him safely,” Govinda said. ‘We called him Bala. Bala means white. He’s beautiful.’ In the photo: Rescuers with the baby goat
The goat was so hungry that he immediately drank an entire bottle of milk
“He is happy,” said Govinda (pictured). ‘We put him down on the grass and he loved it there. He seems to be doing well.”
“We didn’t know exactly how big the cliff was,” Morrison said, “and we wanted to get in there as quickly as possible, just because it had been there for four days.”
When they finally approached, the baby goat seemed “super skittish,” Morrison said.
When they got within a few feet of the goat, Ben lured the animal with an apple, hoping it would jump into his open arms.
“I sat under the goat on the cliff, waiting to see if he jumped,” Ben said.
After a few minutes of waiting and petting, the baby animal ventured within reach of Ben, who took the opportunity and “just gave the little guy a bear hug all over the mountainside.”
Bala the goat is now at Aloha Animal Sanctuary
Morrison said it took 45 minutes to take down the goat.
“I was very relieved that we got him safely,” Govinda said.
‘We called him Bala. Bala means white. He’s beautiful.’
The goat is now at Aloha Animal Sanctuary.
Bala was so hungry that he immediately drank an entire bottle of milk before happily jumping through the lush grass of the shrine.
“He is happy,” Govinda said. ‘We put him down on the grass and he loved it there. He seems to be doing well.”