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CFA crews staged an udderly remarkable rescue over the weekend after a young calf fell down an abandoned mineshaft in Yarck, in the state's northeast.
The Oscar Rescue Support Unit was alerted to a calf in distress at around 8:57 am on Saturday morning. Upon arrival crews found the calf trapped approximately 20 metres underground.
Using a carefully rigged rope system and a harness, rescue personnel worked together over approximately three hours to steer the operation to success.
Remarkably the young calf was completely uninjured.
Oscar Fire Brigade 1st Lieutenant Karl Shay praised the team's coordination and problem-solving skills in handling the tricky rescue.
"It was fairly complex situation, before we could get down the shaft to reach the animal we needed to remove a stump that was blocking the entrance," Karl said.
"I think the calf knew we were there to help, it was very calm throughout the whole process.
"Once we got the ropes on, we were able to safely bring the calf to safety.
"It's not every day you get called to a rescue like this, but we'll always be there when needed, whether it's for people, property or livestock."
Karl added that the rescue served as a timely reminder to the community to always call for help in situations like this and leave things to the trained professionals.
"Obviously these types of situations can be very distressing for pet and livestock owners. But in this situation the family involved made the correct decision to call 000 and wait for help to arrive," he said.
The dairy-tired calf was safely reunited with its very relieved mum.
