An auction has raised at least $50,000 for an Alberta cattle rancher who earlier this month lost the bulk of his herd in a bizarre drowning accident.

Leif Erickson said yesterday that his family is moved by the support that poured in when word got out that 170 of his black Angus cows and calves had clambered onto an ice-covered dugout and fell through.

The animals were valued at about $100,000. The Ericksons had no insurance for such a calamity.

“Words can’t describe it,” the married father of four said from his farm near Viking, southeast of Edmonton.

The Viking Auction Market held a cattle sale and organized bids for a silent auction.

Posted: 12|18|06 at 9:49 am. Filed under: Auction News.