A driver in Canada was awestruck to see a man trying his utmost to rescue a family of geese.
Tirrell Thomas, 30, was driving along Main Street in Winnipeg with his girlfriend when the two happened upon the funny and heartwarming scene. Struck by the humor of the situation, Mr. Thomas, a motivational speaker and hip-hop artist, took out his phone and started filming.
“There’s these geese and the babies, and we see this guy trying his best to get the babies to safety so they don’t get hit by a vehicle,” Mr. Thomas said.
After several failed attempts—scooping up the large birds and their chicks, chasing them around, and simply pointing to where he wanted them to go—the kind man eventually succeeded in getting them off the road.
“This guy just had the bravest heart ever. He kept missing and missing and almost gave up. But in the end, he just picked up the babies and put them on the sidewalk,” Mr. Thomas said, adding that he later learned the kind rescuer was named Riley.
“It took a while, but he did succeed, and it was awesome. As soon as the babies were safely on the sidewalk, the parents flew over to join them.”
Once the task was done, the good Samaritan gave a big smile of relief. As Mr. Thomas and his girlfriend drove off, they rolled down the window to tell him he’d done a good job. Later, after the video was posted online, it quickly went viral, with many millions of views.
While Canadian geese are a common sight in Winnipeg and Manitoba, Mr. Thomas was surprised to have seen them in the center of downtown at such a busy time of day. He was also amazed to witness adult geese, which are extremely protective of their young, not going wild and pecking Riley.
Mr. Thomas said: “It’s crazy because the geese probably knew that he was trying to help, so they didn’t bite him. Normally they are vicious. You can tell the birds were still being protective, flapping their wings and jumping, but in this event they let him do what he wanted—and away they went on their daily adventures, doing whatever it is they do.”
A week later, Riley reached out to Mr. Thomas via social media to say hi and thank him for sparking such a positive response to his actions that day. Riley’s proud mom also got in touch.
“She said her son has a really good heart,“ Mr. Thomas said. ”A lot of people are saying he has a great heart … that the bravery he displayed was amazing. He took a risk and could’ve gotten hurt.”
A few other people have been against Riley protecting the geese and their goslings though. Some people remarked that he could be charged and that people have been hurt doing what he did, says Mr. Thomas.
“But the majority commented they really love to see that,“ he said. ”Riley’s display of heart was amazing and a good example of caring for nature. I expected to get some views but not millions and millions. A lot of people are still giving Riley compliments to this day.”
