Canuck the crow gets international notoriety for stealing knife from crime scene

Police tape at a Vancouver crime scene was meant to keep people out and let police do their jobs, but it was no deterrent for Canuck the crow. The bird swooped off with evidence in its beak and gained the attention of media outlets from around the world.

Accused bird's exploits have been chronicled in The Guardian, ABC News, Washington Post

Tamara Baluja · CBC News · Posted: May 30, 2016 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: May 30, 2016

Canuck the crow has picked up a knife with his beak in the past as seen in this photo posted to Facebook on Jan. 8. (Canuck and I/Facebook)

Vancouver's most infamous bird has now achieved worldwide notoriety.

Canuck the crow was accused of swooping off with a knife from a crime scene, and its exploits have now been documented by various news outlets across the globe, from Washington Post to The Guardian and ABC News.

Here's what CBC originally reported happened:

On May 24, police had shot a man near Hastings and Cassiar streets. They were called to the scene of a car engulfed in flames. When they arrived, police said, they were confronted by a man with a knife.

Shots were fired and the man was arrested.

Vancouver Courier reporter Mike Howell said he saw the bird — which had a red tag on its leg as does Canuck — swoop in and pick up an object from inside an area cordoned off by police tape.

"A cop chased it for about 15 to 20 feet, and then the crow dropped it and took off," Howell told CBC.

Police recovered the knife and placed it into an evidence box.

Did Canuck the crow swoop off with a knife from a Vancouver crime scene? <a href="https://t.co/08pJDZBaGq">https://t.co/08pJDZBaGq</a> <a href="https://t.co/em2mxa7DzA">pic.twitter.com/em2mxa7DzA</a>
—@cbcnewsbc

The Guardian picks up CBC's story

Crow swoops into crime scene and tries to steal knife identified as evidence <a href="https://t.co/UlEHJ4AxJT">https://t.co/UlEHJ4AxJT</a>
—@guardian

ABC News

Police chase famous knife-stealing crow for tampering with crime scene evidence. <a href="https://t.co/bOO9CjZXcJ">https://t.co/bOO9CjZXcJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/V4RoZFkSMn">pic.twitter.com/V4RoZFkSMn</a>
—@ABC

ITV

Crow accused of stealing knife from crime scene <a href="https://t.co/PWVGGwkv4e">https://t.co/PWVGGwkv4e</a> <a href="https://t.co/krfT6mhHcd">pic.twitter.com/krfT6mhHcd</a>
—@itvnews