Soaring through the sky in his paraglider, gazing at the Himalayas sprawled out in front of him, Jayson Biggins suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Looking slowly up above him, he realized he had been joined in the air by a Himalayan griffin vulture.
“It was drafting off my wing, off my glider,” said Biggins, who has also flown with bald eagles. “That was amazing to see.”
Fast-forward to 2024 and the paragliding instructor-turned-pilot has swapped flying alongside birds of prey to offering them a helpful lift in his light aircraft.
Under the name of Big to the Rescue, navigating the skies of B.C. and parts of Washington state, Biggins and his plane, a 1959 Cessna, help rescue charities, including BC SPCA's Wild Animal Rescue Centre in Metchosin, transport animals in need.
“I've always had an affinity for animals – my whole life,” says Biggins, sitting in his airplane hangar in North Saanich. “My wife Natalie and I, when we went on paragliding trips together, we would land somewhere and end up taking home a dog in need.”
And he’s not exaggerating, as the couple currently has three dogs, all rescued from Hawaii. One of the trio, Luna, a miniature dachshund, can be seen sporting two pairs of goggles on the Big to the Rescue logo.
His first animal rescue took place two years ago, when Biggins and his plane flew to Port Hardy with RainCoast Dog Rescue to collect three unwanted dogs. Since then he has helped on numerous rescues, transporting animals such as bald eagles, turkey vultures, domestic pets and seals.
In the summer, after retiring from 22 years as a paragliding instructor – stepping away from his own business, Vancouver Island Paragliding – Biggins decided to focus his spare time on his animal rescue ambitions.
“It's really rewarding,” he says. “It's not something I ever thought I'd be doing. This is my passion now … it’s a mission of the heart.”
His efforts recently caught the attention, and hearts, of animal lovers across the globe when he shared a video online starring a seal pup he fondly refers to as ‘Chatty Baby’.
Biggins remembers flying to Sechelt in August to pick up the pup, which was handed over to him inside a large sealed container. When he arrived back at his hangar in North Saanich, he and his wife decided to lift the lid on the container to check on the very vocal pup – the internet went wild in response. The video, posted to Instagram, has garnered over four and a half million views, and climbing.
“The internet's kind of gone crazy with that one,” he says, pulling out his phone to reveal the video has already had another 100 likes since he last checked his phone.
“It was pretty special,” he adds about his close encounter. “Most people don't get to see a marine mammal like that up close, and a wild one too. It has so many characteristics that are like a [canine] puppy.”
For Biggins though, his 15 minutes of viral fame are not important, he is more focused on how the exposure has helped to raise funds to cover expenses such as fuel costs.
“Getting popular on Instagram is not a goal,” he says. “But if that by default means I get to do this more, that’s kind of a win-win.”
As for what is next for Big to the Rescue, the sky is certainly not the limit. Biggins says he has ambitions to achieve his float rating in the next six to 12 months, which will give him the option of using a seaplane to fly in to the rescue – handy for when a rescue is not conveniently located near a safe landing strip.
But Biggins doesn't have long to ponder on his plans for the future as he quickly needs to ready himself for take-off. This time he is heading to Sechelt to help Delta-based OWL (Orphaned Wildlife) Rehabilitation Society, transport a great horned owl.
"That's pretty cool," he says, with a huge grin across his face, clearly excited by the prospect of joining another bird of prey in the sky.
For more information about Big to the Rescue and how to donate, visit the website: www.bigtotherescue.com
