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The author of a recent essay in The New York Times asks, "What good are geese, anyway?" He's referring to the rapidly growing population of non-migratory Canada Geese that have taken up residence in our parks and golf courses. The problem with non-migratory geese is that they have entered a new category, halfway between wild and domestic. They live in places where they can't be hunted, where they quickly wear out their welcome, and can be dangerous to air travel. Learn more about this social bird with a high tolerance for people.
BirdNote®
What Good Are Geese
Written by Todd Peterson
This is BirdNote.
[Honking of Canada Geese]
The author of a recent essay in The New York Times asks, “What good are geese, anyway?” He’s referring to the rapidly growing population of non-migratory Canada Geese that have taken up residence in our parks and golf courses. [Park ambient]
It’s mostly an urban question. Some residents compare the geese in Prospect Park, Brooklyn to rats and cockroaches.
But this disparaging view is far from universal. For hunters in Maryland, and along the Platte River in Nebraska, and the Columbia in Eastern Washington, hunting migratory geese is a passion requiring skill and great effort.
Perhaps this question also reflects a divergence of perspective between city and country people about wild animals and nature. “I don’t do camping” or “I loathe hunting” are comments you might hear on Park Avenue, where the idea of eating a goose or any other wild animal you have hunted is foreign.
But the problem with non-migratory geese is that they have entered a new category, halfway between wild and domestic. They live in places where they can’t be hunted, where they quickly wear out their welcome, and can be dangerous to air travel.
The problem is really our fault. Years ago, we brought the non-migratory subspecies of Canada Geese into wildlife refuges around the country. From there, they spread, and we have been providing them with just what they need ever since.
[Honking of Canada Geese]
For BirdNote, I’m Mary McCann.
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Call of the provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Recorded by
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2010 Tune In to Nature.org September 2010
ID# CAGO-02-2010-09-27
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