After 27 years of rescuing afflicted animals from all over southwestern BC, Normsnifur is now perhaps the most elusive quarry of his career. We are working on a quest to find a successor who is.
At the age of 83, Norm Snihur has another mission. ..
After 27 years of rescuing afflicted animals from all over southwest British Columbia, Snifur is now perhaps the most elusive quarry successor in his career. We are working on a quest to find someone.
It all started in 1994 when Snihur, a retired airline pilot living in Delta, volunteered at the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (OWL). He heard staff wondering how to rescue an injured eagle from a small island on the Fraser River.
Snifur, who owned a two-seat helicopter near him, suggested that someone fly there. Twenty minutes later, the eagle landed safely.
Since then, Snihur has been a wildlife winged hero in BC. He can rescue anyone anytime, anytime, anywhere. And it's not just OWL.
He was flying for free for a rehab facility that needed an aviation derring-do. As a result, he performed a number of scorecards: 235 eagles, 272 owls, 176 hawks, 501 songbirds and waterfowl, 399 otters, and 389 including otters, raccoons, fawns, squirrels, minks. 2,894.5 hours of flight time with the help of mammals.
Miraculously, he was injured only once. In 2008, he flew a rehabilitated bald eagle from OWL to Gabriola Island near Nanaimo, where he released it with the help of an indigenous elder.
As usual, the eagle's claws were wrapped and the bird was wearing a hood. The plan was for the elder to hold the bird's paw while Snifur unhooded and unwrapped Talon.
For some reason, the elder let go of one of the eagle's legs and the bird was able to sink Talon from Snifur's left hand.
Fortunately, there were other people on the scene who had sufficient first aid to allow Snifur to fly to the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital for treatment. .. When asked how painful it was, an unruly modest pilot replied, "I got my attention."
Otherwise, nothing seemed to mislead him.
"Mammals are very easy," he says. "You just have to keep your hands away from their teeth, and the only scank I had was a baby, so it wasn't sprayed."
Snihur was under the control of a California-made blue and white Robinson R22, even if he was unable to fly due to a lack of hip replacement two years ago. So in September 2021, he made his swan and flew an injured owl from Salt Spring Island to the Delta.
It wasn't just painful for him. Rob Hope, General Manager of OWL, said: He didn't just fly a helicopter for us. In winter, he used a tractor to plow the snow around the site.
Critter Care's Brandon Dean recalls: He was there for us at any time and day. All the rescues he made were fine, and his helicopter was so small and mobile that he was able to land it on our lawn.
Snihur, who currently lives in Nanaimo, has contacted flying clubs throughout British Columbia. Looking for someone to replace him.
So far, he has found six recruits. One of them delivered the first otter to CritterCare last week. However, all six have fixed-wing aircraft. That is, you need to land at the airport. It adds complexity and travel time to the rescue. Not only that, four have been adopted. In other words, you can only fly on weekends.
So Snihar continues his search. That is, if you or anyone you know can fill his boots, he wants to hear from you. Send an email to Wings4wildaid@gmail.com
. He stopped flying, but Snihar and his wife, Lorinne Anderson, continue to rescue wildlife above and below Vancouver Island.
"If you're a deer, get on the truck. It's smaller, we take her van," he says.
In a letter to rehab that we worked with for years, Snihar wrote: Lorinne and I are available 24/7 for wildlife rescue, triage and vehicle transport. If you need help for any reason, feel free to call us.
Former Vancouver Sun Reporter Nicholas Reed's latest book is Home Away: A Wildlife Sanctuary True Story and Creature Care: A Year at the Wildlife Rescue Center. Both are published by Heritage House Publishing.
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