Friday Field Notes with Officer Mullen: Earlier in the week we got a call from the SF Park Ranger dispatch stating that their park rangers had eyes on a goat that was loose in Golden Gate Park near Lloyd Lake. I was sent out to assist the park rangers currently on scene, help them secure the goat and bring it back to the shelter. There were a few park rangers along with several employees of San Francisco Park and Recreation stationed around Lloyd lake on foot and in trucks. The goat was very avoidant of us and ran whenever one of us got near. Thankfully the goat remained in the same general area and kept creating a loop, allowing us to station people in certain areas to keep eyes on the goat and help to guide him away from traffic.
After coming up with a few plans and having the goat outsmart us on all of them, we were finally able to corner the goat into thick brush. He was scared and went deeper into the brush and thankfully got a bit stuck (along with myself). Once he was stuck, Ranger Parker, who was below the goat, was able to get a hold of his horns and keep him from moving. Ranger Burrows and I climbed down to where Parker was standing and were able to secure the goat with a slip lead. At this point, the goat relaxed and allowed us to untangle his legs from the branches and lower him onto the ground. Once on the ground, he let us know that he was not thrilled about being caught, but eventually ranger Parker got a hold of his horns again and helped us guide him to the van. I used a stretcher from the van as a ramp and he walked right in. Once in the van I used a slip lead to make a temporary halter on his head to secure him for transfer. There were many hands involved in this rescue and I know that we would not have been successful without all of the helpers from SF Park and Recreational department and especially the park rangers. I was there for over an hour and they were there for a few hours before I got there. It was a long and athletic adventure, but well worth it when we were finally able to load him up safely into the van unharmed.
San Francisco is the first city in the US where 100% of its residents live within a 10 minute walk of a park. The SF Recreation and Park Dept. maintains over 225 parks, playgrounds and open spaces in San Francisco, plus two outside the city limits; Sharp Park in Pacifica and Camp Mather in the high sierras. They employ more than 2,000 individuals from gardeners, foresters, recreation leaders to park rangers, custodians, electricians and more. The Park Patrol Department utilizes park rangers to provide public safety, protection of park properties and educate people in how to live harmoniously with nature and the wildlife around them.
We don’t know where this goat came from and how he got into Golden Gate Park, all we know is that he is safe now and awaiting his next adventure with our rescue partner, Goatlandia Farm Animal Sanctuary. We are so thankful for the fantastic teamwork with the park rangers and the other employees of SF Park and Recreational Department, it really took each and every one of us working together to safely secure the goat and get him out of harm’s way. We are also thankful to Goatlandia for accepting this wonderful guy into their herd so he can live a long healthy life with other goats.
