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An Okotoks man came across a feathered friend in a sticky — not to mention smelly — situation Sunday.

James Anderson was riding his motorcycle near Bragg Creek when he stopped at Allen Bill Pond to use the washroom.

“I looked down there and saw a duck looking up at me,” he said.

Anderson immediately started racking his brain for ideas on how to get the bird out, thinking of fashioning something with rope.

“I didn’t like the thought of this animal suffering down there,” he said. “It was obviously trapped and unable to get out. And a pretty awful existence it was living down there. It just stunk.” Tweet This

He stood guard until five conservation officers arrived on scene. They tried opening a side panel to free the bird to no avail.

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Next, they filled the hole with water to force the duck up and used a snare to pull it out.

The whole rescue operation took about an hour. The conservation officers washed the animal in the river and let it paddle away.

“I think about this poor animal trapped down there — it could’ve been down there for who knows how long,” Anderson said.

“It’s one of those things: you don’t want to be a pest and call in a nuisance complaint or something that’s not necessary. I wasn’t sure how serious they would take it, but [the officers] were awesome. They obviously love animals as much as I do.”