In a heartening tale of resilience and community effort, an Egyptian Goose known as Steven has been nursed back to health and returned to its home at Mueller Lake Park after being grievously injured. In early January, the goose was found at the Austin park with an arrow lodged in its plumage, a jarring sight that mobilized the Austin Animal Center and local wildlife experts into action.

As reported by CBS Austin, Animal Protection Officers faced a significant hurdle, with the injured goose evading capture for several days. Finally, on Jan. 5, they succeeded in their mission. The goose, which is known to be a strong flier, had locals tracking its movements within the park, reporting sightings that were crucial to its eventual rescue.

Despite the Egyptian Goose being non-native to Texas, exceptional permissions were granted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to treat the bird due to the unique circumstances. Jules Maron, executive director of Austin Wildlife Rescue, explained to Yahoo News, "The Egyptian goose isn’t native to Texas, and typically AWR isn’t able to treat non-native wildlife. Texas Parks and Wildlife granted AWR permission to rehabilitate the bird given the circumstances."

After comprehensive medical assessment and intervention that included x-rays and careful arrow extraction, no infections or major damage were found by the veterinary team. Relief washed over those involved when Steven made a full recovery. "This was one extremely lucky bird!" Jules Maron conveyed the sentiment of everyone involved. Surmounting the trials of human-inflicted injury, the brunt of winter, and the challenge of defying capture, Steven's release back to Mueller Lake Park marks a small but potent triumph over adversity. Residents can expect to see the resilient bird there until he joins the annual spring migration.