Canuck the Crow is “dazed but okay” after being knocked unconscious by a lineman wielding a flag at a soccer game on Saturday.
The news spread quickly on Shawn Bergman’s Canuck and I Facebook page which chronicles the trickster crow’s mischievous exploits for their 40,000 followers.
“WTF is wrong with humans?!?!?!? I'm so glad you found him,” said one woman commenting on Bergman’s update. “I'll be sending you both good energy and I hope there's no lasting damage.”
“Sending healing thoughts to you both,” said another Facebook follower.
Bergman, who befriended Canuck when the orphaned crow was found by his landlord’s son, put out the alarm at about seven o’clock on Saturday night.
“I need your help,” he said, visibly distraught, in a live Canuck and I Facebook feed. “Canuck’s missing right now. I’m worried. This morning while visiting a soccer tournament at Adanac Park, Canuck was blindsided by a gentleman holding a lineman's flag. From what I was told by a witness he just walked by and cracked Canuck on the head with his flag.”
That witness told Bergman that the blow rendered Canuck unconscious for 10 to 15 minutes. The witness had to temporarily leave the park and, upon returning, was told that Canuck had flown away. When Canuck didn’t return home, Bergman asked his Facebook followers to help him find Canuck.
Canuck returned home about an hour later. On Sunday, Bergman reported that Canuck had made it through the night and seemed more alert. He took Canuck to a vet that afternoon.
By Sunday morning the video had been viewed 26,000 times. Canuck’s fans live as far away as the Netherlands, London, England, Moncton, New Brunswick and Nome, Alaska.
Canuck has become so famous that a documentary film is being made about him.
In 12th&Cambie: How #Canuckthecrow & his knife-stealing ways stole my story https://t.co/V6JEkTaCOO #vancouver #vpd
— Mike Howell (@Howellings) May 30, 2016
He’s the crow that stole a knife from a crime scene and took a ride on the Millennium Line, hopping on at the Commercial-Broadway station, grabbing a seat and looking for food before getting off in East Vancouver. He’s also known for a penchant for stealing pens, especially from movie sets.
Bergman has known Canuck ever since the crow was found and raised by his landlord’s son. "He was no bigger than a tennis ball and was not able to fly due to his age. He more than likely would've died if he hadn't been taken in, in my opinion," Bergman says on the Canucks and I Facebook page.
When the landlord's son released Canuck, Bergman braced himself for a sad goodbye, he told the Courier's Rebecca Blissett in September. Instead, Canuck flew straight back to the backyard fence where Bergman was standing. “He actually did hop up on my arm, it just made my heart go like crazy,” he said. “I can’t believe this crow is actually on my arm and, from that moment on, it was like he was stuck to me.”
The Italian Canadian Sports Federation, which was hosting the soccer tournament where Canuck was hit, was quick to respond to the incident.
On Sunday it posted a message on its website saying that it did not condone violence of any kind against animals.
It has assigned one of its board members, Don Faccone, to investigate what happened.
“What we have been able to determine so far is that the person involved in this incident was not a member of ICSF and was not employed or directed by ICSF,” the release says. “For this tournament, each team is responsible for providing volunteer linespeople for their game and this person was related to one of the teams that was playing at the time.”
Anyone with information about the attack on Canuck is asked email Faccone at jkfdon@telus.net.
