fantasticbeastsandhowtokeepthem:
It’s that time of the year again so just gonna remind everyone that Canada geese are capable of breaking a human arm with their wings, bite hard enough to cause stitches, and otherwise injure you. Do not taunt or torment geese. Just avoid them and keep your distance, move slowly and calmly, always stay facing the geese. If a goose is already beginning to chase you, stand your ground as both fleeing and assaulting the goose will encourage it to attack. If you stand facing the goose and move back slowly it will usually cause the goose to back off. And remember:
Do Not Feed The Geese
Some tips if a goose does start attacking you:
• Obstruct their line of sight, move behind something, put something like a bush or bench between you and the bird
• Move in groups. A goose is more likely to attack an indivual than a whole flock of human
• Please don’t hurt the goose! I realize it seems like an asshole, but they’re just trying to defend their family and you could be in violation of the law. Don’t go to jail over a goose
• Move in a 90° angle if the goose is flying at you, they can’t turn that sharply and will miss
• Don’t get on their level as they can more easily injure you
• Keep children away from places geese roam
• And once again, don’t feed wild geese. At All.
If you know you’re going to be in a goose area, carry an umbrella with you! Just pop it open when a goose approaches, it can scare the goose away and also be used as a shield. Just don’t hit the goose, please.
@tinysaurus-rex why can’t I feed wild geese? I often bring them chicken food (never bread) or spinach. They know me and are quite tame. Sorry if this sounds rude. I would hate to hurt an animal. Am I doing something wrong?
It’s not a good idea to feed them because it acclimates them to humans. You may not want to hurt them & you know how to act around them, but if they get used to accepting food from humans, they could easily go after someone who doesn’t have food or can’t get away from them safely (like a kid).
Added to that, it’s not a great idea to feed wild waterfowl because when that gets normalized & lots of people are doing it, it can actually encourage them to stay put when they should be moving for winter. No one feeds waterfowl during the winter & they can starve since there’s not enough food for them.
I always hear stories about how dangerous geese are. I don’t doubt it becaus the sheer NUMBER of people who have told me they’re dangerous and stuff it’s pretty clear it is A Thing. But like, my experiences with Canadian geese have been. “Oh hey look! Geese.” when we’re walking to appointments. Like, we’ve gotten within 5 ft of them (kinda had to, they were on the path) and they seem wary and will move away but aside from that they don’t seem to care. One time we even saw one with babies and she pretty much ignored us. (also the babies were adorable)
We never approach them, we just sort of walk by, maybe take a few photos, and go on our way.
So like, I don’t doubt them as dangerous. I’ve just never had the Scary Goose Experience TM
Alright, that first post? That’s nonsense. Geese cannot break your bones. They will hit you with their wings, but they can’t actually break anything that way. Their wing is much more fragile than your arm. They aren’t that strong! They weigh like 10 pounds!
They also can’t make you need stitches. Geese don’t have teeth made to tear skin. Seriously, I’ve been bitten by waterfowl before. It hurts, but they can’t actually injure you. The worst a goose can do is bruise you a bit.
Also, you’re a lot bigger than a goose. If one comes at you in the air, protect your face until it’s not in the air, then spread your arms, look big, and slowly back away. Move away from the goose family so it won’t have a reason to attack you, while making yourself intimidating.
If a goose comes at you on the ground, just reach down and grab its neck, right behind its head. Hold firmly but without crushing, pull towards yourself, put your other arm down and around the goose to pin its wings to its sides, and lift. Voila. You have captured a goose. Carry it to the nearest body of water and throw it in. It’ll make a big splash and will probably leave you alone after.
If one is approaching threateningly but not outright attacking you yet, walk away. Don’t run, don’t wave your arms, just leave. It’ll leave you alone once you’re out of its space.
Here’s a video of a goose being very territorial and attacking a guy’s dog. Please note that the dog is not bleeding or having any bones broken. This is also about the best way to deal with a goose attacking your child/your dog/etc; grab it, throw it away from whatever it’s attacking, and leave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OStX_wrWGg
C’mon, people! Geese are aggressive as heck sometimes, but they’re just birds! And not even predatory birds like hawks. They aren’t equipped to seriously injure anything larger than they are.
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