Man Saves Drowning Coyote Pup And Takes Him Along On 10-Day Raft Ride

By Caitlyn Clancey, Diply

A Canadian man recently saved the life of a coyote pup he noticed was drowning in a river, and once the small animal had been rescued, he was taken on a 10-day rafting journey to get him the help he needed.

This week, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society Of Saskatchewan shared the incredible story of the rescue on Instagram and detailed just how exactly the man named Justin spent those 10 days isolated with a coyote pup on the river.

It all begin while Justin was on a multi-day rafting trip down the Red Deer and Saskatchewan Rivers.

During his rafting expedition, he heard some sort of a commotion coming from the shoreline and paddled over to investigate what he said sounded like a "dog fight."

Upon checking the area, Justin wasn't able to see anything out of the ordinary, so he climbed back into his raft and decided to go fishing.

Later, while waiting for his catch of the day, Justin heard something in the water squeak.

Upon closer inspection, he realized he could see the tip of what could only be an animal's nose poking out just barely above the waterline near his raft. But the water was much too murky for him to determine just what animal exactly it was.

Justin reached over to try and rescue the creature but ended up toppling into the freezing-cold water himself.

From this new vantage point, he was able to determine it was a coyote pup who was drowning in the river.

Thankfully, Justin was able to not only pull himself back onto his raft before it floated away, but he was also able to save the poor pup from the icy water and place him on the raft, as well.

The small animal was unconscious and didn't seem to be breathing. Luckily, Justin knew CPR and was able to resuscitate the coyote using a modified Heimlich maneuver.

Although the two were now safe inside the raft together, there was still the problem of how to get the coyote the help it needed.

Because of where the pair were located, Justin wasn't able to get any service on his cell phone, so he couldn't call an animal organization for assistance.

But rather than abandon the poor coyote, he decided to simply take him along on a little rafting adventure.

For the next 10 days, the coyote (who Justin named "YipYip"), acted as his co-captain while the pair rafted down the river together.

Throughout their journey, Justin made sure he took good care of the little animal. YipYip would eat with Justin, and the two even cuddled together at night while they slept.

Sometimes, if he got a little tuckered out during the travel, YipYip would curl up inside Justin's backpack for a little midday snooze.

Eventually Justin was able to reach an area with sufficient cell service so he call his wife for some advice.

After contacting a few different organizations in both Ontario and Manitoba, Justin got in touch with the Swift Current SPCA who then redirected him to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society Of Saskatchewan.

Sadly, it was time to say goodbye to YipYip as Justin handed him over to an organization he knew would take good care of his animal pal.

The Rehabilitaiton Society shared the story of Justin's incredible rescue and adventure on Instagram this week.

View this post on Instagram

We have a really amazing coyote pup rescue story to share today! 😍 Our caller Justin was on a multi-day raft trip down the Red Deer and South Saskatchewan Rivers when he heard a commotion coming from somewhere along the shoreline. He said it sounded like a dog fight so he parked his raft and hiked up to a higher elevation to investigate. However, he wasn’t able to see anything so he went back to his raft to go fishing. While he was fishing, he heard something in the water squeak - and that’s when he saw some sort of animal swimming in the river! It’s nose was barely above the water and the water was so dark and murky that Justin couldn’t initially tell what kind of animal it was. Justin tried to reach for the animal but ended up falling in the freezing cold water as well. Luckily, Justin was somehow able to locate the animal - a coyote pup! - in the water AND catch his raft before it floated away for good! Unfortunately, when Justin brought the animal back to his raft, the little coyote pup was unconscious and didn’t seem to be breathing. The pup was lucky yet again as Justin had experience with CPR and was able to do a modified Heimlich manoeuvre by pushing on its belly. After a few pushes, water squirted out of the coyote’s nose and he was breathing again! As Justin was rafting and had limited service over the next 10 or so days, he kept the coyote with him and cared for him the entire time! The little pup would eat with Justin, cuddle in his jacket, and sleep in his backpack while they rafted down the river. Justin ended up naming the little guy YipYip and took really good care of him throughout the trip. Eventually, Justin was able to find a place where he could get service and call his wife for advice. Initially, they contacted organizations in Ontario and Manitoba, before they connected with the Swift Current SPCA who got him in touch with us! Our amazing volunteer Samantha in Swift Current helped coordinate the transfer and now YipYip is with our wonderful rehabber Melanie. He will be taken care of until he is old enough to be returned to the wild! If it wasn’t for the wonderfully caring Justin, little YipYip would have perished in the river.

A post shared by Wildlife Rehab Society of Sask (@wrsosaskatchewan) on Jul 14, 2020 at 8:16am PDT

In that post, they also revealed that YipYip is currently in the care of a rehabilitation expert until he is deemed old enough to be returned to the wild.

"If it wasn't for the wonderfully caring Justin, little YipYip would have perished in the river," the organization added.

Thankfully Justin was there to save the day, and now he has the unbelievable memory of spending a 10-day rafting journey with a baby coyote!

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