A spiky stowaway porcupine named Mackenzie is back home in the forests of northern British Columbia after a long journey to and from the Okanagan.
The young rodent was found under the pilot's seat of the salvaged remains of a plane wreck that had been transported from her namesake of Mackenzie B.C., to Kelowna.
After a three-day journey inside the plane by boat, helicopter and trailer, little Mackenzie started curiously poking her head out from under the pilot seat on May 30, when workers of a salvage recovery company in Kelowna were preparing to unload the plane from their trailer.
The team tried their best to coax the scared porcupine out, but their efforts were to no avail.
That is when Eva Hartmann, the founder of the Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society in Summerland was called to assist with the prickly task.
“This was definitely an inquiry we have never received before," said Hartmann.
Little Mackenzie was lightly sedated before being extracted from the plane and transported to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Summerland, where she rested, was rehydrated and fattened up for a week.
While Mackenzie was healthy, she could not be released in the Okanagan as wild animals need to be returned to their native territory. When news of the prickly passenger spread, volunteer wildlife rescue pilot Jayson Biggins swooped in and offered to fly little Mackenzie home.
"I asked, do you have a plane and pilot lined up?"
Big to the Rescue is a volunteer team run by animal-loving husband and wife Jayson Biggins and Natalie Foley. Using a Cessna airplane, inherited from Natalie's father, the pair spends hundreds of hours in the air each year, transporting injured, stranded and orphaned animals to safe spaces.
On the evening of Thursday, June 5 – the day before the big porcupine relocation effort – Biggins transported an orphaned deer fawn and an injured eagle to two different rescue organizations before speaking with Black Press.
In the last month, Biggins has transported numerous animals in need, including a red-tailed hawk, a bear cub and a coyote pup.
Together, Biggins and Hartmann coordinated the journey from Victoria to Penticton, where the porcupine was picked up in a crate. She was then flown all the way north to Mackenzie, where the prickly package was picked up by Conservation Officer Herb Stark before Biggins flew back to Victoria.
The journey marked Biggins' longest-ever rescue flight and porcupine Mackenzie's second-ever flight. She unintentionally took to the skies during her journey to Kelowna as the plane she was hiding in was transported out of the forest in northern B.C. by helicopter.
Biggins would like to thank his mechanic Mike Ingram, the owner of Victoria Air Maintenance, who loaned him their slightly larger airplane for the journey. Using the borrowed airplane meant that he could fly across the province without having to stop and refuel partway, making for a smoother journey for Mackenzie.
"This was a huge success," said Biggins.
He said Mackenzie was a perfect travel companion and stayed quiet in her crate, which was wrapped in a blanket and filled with tasty branches and cozy leaves.
Once the plane landed and Mackenzie was handed over to Conservation Officer Stark, her crate was unwrapped and she was assessed.
"She turned around and was ready to quill," said Biggins, joking about the thanks he got from his porcupine passenger.
The healthy and spunky young porcupine has now been released to her natural environment. While she expressed a bit of annoyance with Conservation Officer Stark who released her by showing her spiky backside, she is back where she belongs – the great outdoors near Mackenzie B.C. – and is doing well.
Biggins said he is thrilled with how the relocation mission went and added he loved seeing so much of B.C. in one day.
When asked why he spends so much time flying around the province to help animals, Biggins said that he strives to right the wrongs done to animals by humans – even if it means relocating a porcupine who was unintentionally taken from her home. Biggins said that as long as his fuel expenses are covered, Big to the Rescue will always do what it can to help animals in need.
"I'm just an individual making a difference."
Biggins said he understands that constantly being bombarded with sad stories can be overwhelming and disheartening, but it does not mean you should give up.
"I know it's overwhelming, but that doesn't mean you do nothing."
Biggins said he reminds himself that you should always do something, even if you can't do everything.
"Something is better than nothing," said Biggins.
To follow along with the Big to the Rescue missions and to learn more about the organization follow Biggins on Instagram at @bigtotherescue or visit bigtotherescue.com.
