On February 8th, the Bakersfield Condors hosted the Las Vegas Wranglers in an ECHL Pacific Division matchup. As part of the pre-game festivities, Bakersfield brought out a real live condor to help get fans riled up during the national anthem. Unfortunately for the wrangler, Queen Victoria (as the condor is known), had other plans
First, the giant bird got away from the handler, and slid across the ice. It made its way towards the penalty box and the wrangler scooped it up from behind. The wrangler must not have a lot of experience on ice, however, as he bit it hard while trotting back to the carpet at center ice.
The bird again escaped from his grasp and headed away. After taking a quick breather, one of the Condor players urged the bird back to the handler. Instead, however, the bird made its way over to the Condors bench to join the rest of the team. It flew to the top of the boards giving the Condors a bit of a scare, before flying around a bit more on the bench, then hopping down and taking a walk towards the locker room.
Both players and fans got a kick out of the whole ordeal, and it has now become one of the latest viral sensations involving hockey. Check out the full video below of the condor gone wild, and give us your thoughts in the comments!
