31 October 2008
Did you hear the one about a goat in a landslide?
Posted by Dave Petley
A bit of light relief over at the Highway 97 site in Canada, which continues to slip. Arthon have a pictorial report on their website of the rescue of a mountain goat that had fallen down the tension crack and become wedged 10 m below the surface (all images from the Arthon website):
Fortunately, the goat (now named Houdini) was spotted and a rescue was put in place. Enter the gallant abseilers (you wouldn’t mess with these guys on a dark night):


They abseiled down and tranquilised the goat, who was then hauled back to safety:

Meanwhile the slope is still moving 10-15 mm per day and as a result the road is still closed. A water taxi has starts on Saturday morning to allow people to get around the blockage.
Hat tip – Andrew Giles again.


Dave Petley is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hull in the United Kingdom. His blog provides commentary and analysis of landslide events occurring worldwide, including the landslides themselves, latest research, and conferences and meetings.