Mcguyver-esque armadillo rescue

[OILFIELDTRASH]

At my job we have what they call fresh water pits. They are pretty much deep stock ponds lined with vinyl. They hold water for the drilling rigs or whatever else they need water for.
Well walking by it this morning I saw an animal swimming in it. I didn't know what it was and as I got closer I saw that it was an armadillo treading water holding on for dear life. I'm guessing it just stumbled upon this pit and thought it'd be a good place for a drink. Problem is the pit is steep and lined with slick ass vinyl and the armadillo had no chance of getting out on it's own once it got in. No way was I going to stand by and just watch it tire out then drown.
I formulated a plan. I found a pallet on the work site and pulled it near the edge of the pit. Loaded it down with rocks, pieces of metal, and what not to keep it from moving. I got a piece of rope that I keep in my truck and tied it to the pallet. I let myself down the pit while having one hand grasping the rope and the other holding a push broom. I let the push broom down into the water and the armadillo grabbed on. He tried a couple times just holding with his claws and that wouldn't work because he kept slipping off as I pulled him up. The armadillo finally just put his whole body on the broom. I was able to get him all the way up with some work and finally just pushing him up from behind with the broom.
Very satisfying feeling. Here's some pics. The armadillo is too tired to run off so I got some good pics and even petted it's back.

 

[zinfamous]

Heh, Armadillos are pretty stupid.

good for you.

 

[amdhunter]

It looks delicious.

 

[MrPickins]

You'll probably see him squished on the side of the road in a few days...

Seriously though, good job on the rescue.

 

[amdhunter]

Heh, Armadillos are pretty stupid.

I bet it'll go back in the water in a few hours.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Heh, Armadillos are pretty stupid.

good for you.

Yeah. This happened earlier today and about 15 minutes later after this went down he was swimming again. :facepalm: I got him out again and put him a good distance away this time. I'm happy to report he has disappeared into the wild again and no more swimming lessons.

 

[zinfamous]

Yeah. This happened earlier today and about 15 minutes later after this went down he was swimming again. :facepalm: I got him out again and put him a good distance away this time. I'm happy to report he has disappeared into the wild again and no more swimming lessons.

lol. amdhunter was right.

and he will probably get squished by a car or wander into one of your drill fixtures or something.

 

[MrPickins]

It looks delicious.

People can and do eat them.

My grandma tell me stories about eating them in during the depression.

 

[lxskllr]

Nice job on the rescue! Sorry 'bout the leprosy :^(

 

[herm0016]

we put fences around the pits here, and they use multi color flagging aoround them to try to keep the animals out.

we cut a fence once and rescued an antalope from a pit.

good job on the rescue.

 

[Specop 007]

Couldnt you have just driven your pickup over and used that for the anchor rather than a pallet?

Either way good job. I've been giving some thought to going into the oil field business. Seems Halliburton is hiring and so is power fuels. Plus a few other companies. Not real keen on 2 weeks on 2 weeks off though.

 

[CRXican]

aww, you petted it

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Nice job on the rescue! Sorry 'bout the leprosy :^(

Thank God I had gloves on. I didn't even know that.

 

[herm0016]

Couldnt you have just driven your pickup over and used that for the anchor rather than a pallet?

Either way good job. I've been giving some thought to going into the oil field business. Seems Halliburton is hiring and so is power fuels. Plus a few other companies. Not real keen on 2 weeks on 2 weeks off though.

where and what service? we work 2 weeks on and one off here. many of the camps near larger cities work 7 and 3 or something similar.

 

[eits]

not exactly mcguyver-sque, but right on

why didn't you just bring your truck over and tie the rope to the truck and yourself and rappel down?

 

[her209]

Darwin needs a soul.........

 

[Azraele]

Nice work rescuing it.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

not exactly mcguyver-sque, but right on

why didn't you just bring your truck over and tie the rope to the truck and yourself and rappel down?

What would i have to do to get Mcguyver status?
It's really an area they don't want us driving personal vehicles around.

 

[eits]

What would i have to do to get Mcguyver status?
It's really an area they don't want us driving personal vehicles around.

using a battery, fork, paperclip, and coke bottle to create an explosion in the water to create a big wave that would wash the armadillo ashore.

 

[TecHNooB]

you're gonna be crushed when you see it floating in the middle of the pit tomorrow.

 

[HAL9000]

Cute :wub:

 

[brblx]

Thank God I had gloves on. I didn't even know that.

i don't think contact will do it. the cases are linked with some aspect of cleaning/cooking/eating the animal, from what i remember reading.

 

[olds]

Next time, use one of these:

 

[IronWing]

People put permanent escape ladders in the tanks around here so that the quail and desert toads can get back out. If you leave that pallet in the tank so that it is about ~1/3 submerged it should work nicely as an escape ladder. Good job on the rescue!