For Vanderhoof-area residents who have recently spotted dead cows floating in the Nechako River, it's undoubtedly an unpleasant sight.
But for the owners of the 20 head of cattle who were lost in the river, the day they discovered the tragedy is one that will stick with them for some time.
"I felt like the day when our house burnt down," said Brenda Ziler, who owns the Fort Fraser ranch the cattle escaped from with her husband Jon.
The couple lost their home three years ago to a fire, and Brenda said it was the only feeling she could compare to looking out the window in January and seeing something black on the river.
Twenty-one heifers, purchased last fall, escaped from their pen Jan. 27. It appears they walked onto the ice covering the Nechako River when the ice collapsed and submerged them in the water and under the ice.
Thinking it was one of their dogs, she went outside to call it, but it was there beside her, Ziler recalled.
Not only was the loss of the animals felt, but it was also a financial loss for the ranchers with half the herd gone.
"If we count the calves they would have had, that was about $42,000 that went into the river," Ziler said.
That day, the Zilers were able to rescue one heifer from the water. Its head was sticking out of the ice above the water and the couple managed to retrieve it from shore with rope and a chain.
"She's fine. She had a calf about a month after," Ziler said.
But the remaining 20 animals were lost to the river and due to the still-icy conditions the carcasses cannot be retrieved until the weather warms up.
More than a month went by before other people began to notice the animals in the water, said Brent Barclay, a resource stewardship agrologist with the Ministry of Agriculture.
"We know that some of the carcasses reached Fort Fraser but ice in the river prevents us from tracking them any further at this time," he said.
Ziler said she and Jon are both aware it's a "gruesome sight," but there's nothing they can currently do to remedy it.
"Every ministry we talked to, safety was the No. 1 concern. Even the one we rescued, we probably shouldn't have done that," Ziler said.
Once the ice is gone from the river, conservation staff will retrieve the remaining carcasses as they are found. The Ministry of the Environment has minimal concern about the livestock in the an environmental pollution perspective, since wildlife in watercourses is a naturally occurring event. All the cattle were considered to be healthy at the time of their deaths.
Barclay said one of his colleagues had mentioned there was a similar incident in the Pine River in the South Peace Region within the past five years.
While she admits it wasn't one of their better days, Ziler said there's nothing for her and her husband to do but carry on.
"It's a financial loss, but it's not the end of the world. A lot of people are way worse off," she said.
Anyone who discovers a carcass is asked to contact the Ministry of Agriculture office in Prince George at and not to try to remove it themselves.
-- with files from Mark Nielsen
