Mountain goat stuck under Kansas City bridge survives rocky rescue

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A mountain goat that escaped from its owner and somehow got stuck under a Kansas City bridge has survived a rocky rescue effort.

Firefighters were called Monday after people spotted the animal hopping around on the pillars that support the bridge, high above the ground below, The Kansas City Star reports.

Hoping to lower it down to waiting rescuers, a bystander managed to get a rope around the goat’s neck, said Tori Fugate, of the KC Pet Project, a nonprofit that handles animal control for the city and operates shelters.

But Fugate said the goat wound up hanging from its neck, not moving, leaving rescuers worried it had died.

“I don’t know why they were trying to even do the slip lead in the first place,” Fugate said. “I think they were thinking maybe ‘if I slip lead them then I can pull him up,’ but that’s not at all like how usually they would handle a situation like that.”

When the goat began to buck, rescuers cut the rope, and a veterinarian sedated it so it could be taken to a shelter for care.

The mountain goat had been adopted recently and had escaped in the nearby area. After receiving an X-ray, it appears the goat suffered no broken bones, she said.

“While he is not out of the woods yet, he appears to be stable and we are cautiously optimistic that he’ll recover,” Fugate said.