This goose that was on the banks of the river in Prince Albert has now safely been transferred to a wildlife rehab facility in Saskatoon. (submitted/Penny Zelensky)

By Susan McNeil

Goose rescue

Goose rescued from Prince Albert riverbank had injured wing

Dec 9, 2025 | 1:16 PM

At the tail end of fall, a goose that did not head south with the rest of its flock was recently rescued from the banks of the North Saskatchewan River in Prince Albert.

The goose was posted on a local social media page after people noticed it remaining there for several weeks but is now healing in a wildlife rehabilitation centre in Saskatoon.

Local volunteer Penny Zelensky said she was notified that a goose had been seen on the riverbank for several weeks and went to see what was going on.

“I could tell that it had a wing injury and it would probably be an old wing injury at that point, but still we just felt that we should at least give it a try,” she said of making the decision to try to rescue it. She called up Brad and Pam Howe, two other wildlife rescue volunteers who drove from Humboldt to Prince Albert to help.

“I went one way and they went the other and the goose kind of was looking around trying to figure out what to do and he started going towards Brad and Brad just put his net on it and just that was it. Easy peasy.”

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Goose rescued from Prince Albert riverbank had injured wing

Zelensky said that geese can’t jump so a log in its path would have stopped it from travelling anywhere.

At the same time, geese are known for their aggression so they held its neck until it was in a cage and covered to reduce stress.

The Howes then drove the bird to Saskatoon before going back home, a round trip of about seven hours.

Dedicated volunteers is how the Wildlife Rescue Society of Saskatchewan manages its task of helping wildlife across the province.

“We have volunteers throughout the province, over 100 trained wildlife rescue volunteers, and one of them is Penny, who lives just outside of Prince Albert,” said Executive Director Bonnie Dell of the Wildlife Rescue Society of Saskatchewan.

After days of the goose remaining on the riverbank alone and the society fielding several calls about it, Penny went to the location on December 8 and found the bird.

One worry – and the main reason for a 30 per cent increase in calls this year to WRSOS– is avian influenza, which changed how the bird could be dealt with.

The current strain of avian influenza is highly contagious and fatal, killing infected birds within 24 hours.

The WRSOS follows federal and provincial rules when it comes to dealing with birds infected with the virus – which is to leave them to die on their own.

“Penny spent a lot of time watching it, filming it. She sent me some video of it so we could be as sure as possible that it wasn’t suffering any of the symptoms of avian influenza before we would think of rescuing it,” said Dell.

Moving the infected birds will lead to virus spreading, she said.

“They’re not to be handled because it is very contagious and they’re not to be moved because moving them spreads it.”

The WRSOS has been dealing with avian influenza calls all autumn, mostly in geese, but that has mostly passed with the departure of the birds to the south.

They were fairly confident the Prince Albert goose did not have avian influenza because it survived so long.

With an increase in calls and awareness, the WROS is also reminding people of the need for volunteers.

Zelensky said she began volunteering because of her love for wildlife.

“I’ve always loved animals of any kind and I’ve always been interested in conservation,” she said.

She retired from her career as a teacher a decade ago and that’s when another retired teacher asked if she would be interested in helping wildlife.

“I jumped at the chance and it’s literally changed my life. I’ve learned so much about the way of the world when it comes to animals. Every single thing has its place in the food chain. I really enjoy it,” she said.

Over the years she has helped a variety of creatures. This summer, she rescued an injured baby garter snake that was about three or four inches long. She rescued a small brown bat from the top of PetSmart in Prince Albert and was asked to rescue a bald eagle.

The bald eagle unfortunately did have avian influenza and could not be saved. Other creatures include a raven, geese, duck and owls.

Zelensky is licensed to keep wildlife overnight in order to take them to Saskatoon.

Most start as transport for wildlife, which they do on their own dime but get a tax deductible receipt.

Once trained, volunteers can then catch rescuable animals or birds and take them for help. Training is done in the spring for hands-on volunteers.

The organization provides services across the province and so is looking for volunteers from across the province as well.

People can follow on social media or get more information from their website www.wrsos.org.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com