Deer Stands Guard Over Goose; Live Video

[BlueStateSaint]

This is interesting, in a good way.

Deer Stands Guard Over Goose; Live Video

1:39 PM, Apr 15, 2011  |  3  comments

The Story of the Goose & Deer

It's a scene right out of a Disney movie, mother goose has lost her lifelong mate and is now left alone to create and tend to her nest in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, NY.  She spends the day sheltering her eggs from the cool spring air inside an empty urn she has chosen as home.

The loss of her male partner and guardian now makes her vulnerable to any would-be predators that choose to approach the nest.  But, in an unlikely twist of fate, an adult deer has befriended the mother goose, taking over the role of protector.

This animal arrangement is highly unusual, since there's no known way that a deer and goose can communicate. Yet somehow the deer has come to understand the need of the nesting mother.

The deer now spends its days near the urn acting as guardian when needed.  As passersby approach the area the deer stands and places itself between the person and the nesting goose.  On one occasion the deer even took a protective stance attempting to fend off a barking dog near the area of the urn.

Craig Cygan owner of Borders on Patrol, a company hired to move the goose flock from time to time says a goose would normally attempt to fend off the deer with loud honks and raised wings especially near the nest.  This one, he says seems to like the company.

Maybe if geese and deer can learn to get along, there's hope for bunnies and ptarmigans yet.

The rest of the story is at, with vids:

http://www.wgrz.com/news/article/118358/37/Live-Video---Deer-Stands-Guard-Over-Goose

[Eupher]

Great story, although I think we've got plenty of Canada geese anymore and maybe they shouldn't enjoy the protected status that they do. In my state, Missouri, the US Fish and Wildlife Service does authorize tbe Missouri Dept. of Conservation to issue permits to property owners for control of nuisance geese.

Not sure about NY State....

[Thor]

I think that the Canadian Geese are not protected except by maybe the Libtards out in Commiefornia. Snow Geese, OTOH, are a protected species. The Canadian Geese were almost a nuisance when I was up in MN.

[Eupher]

I think that the Canadian Geese are not protected except by maybe the Libtards out in Commiefornia. Snow Geese, OTOH, are a protected species. The Canadian Geese were almost a nuisance when I was up in MN.

No, they are still protected by the feds. But individual states can levy state-level permits on license from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Canada geese are protected by the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and
the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929.  The former, the
implementation of a 1916 convention signed by the United States and
Canada, prohibits the hunting, possessing, purchasing and exporting
of migratory birds "or any part, or egg of any such bird."
However, the Secretary of the Interior is also authorized to
legalize temporary hunting of migratory birds "based on due regard
to distribution, abundance, and breeding habits."  States may
implement additional laws that are tougher in enforcement.
Violations of this act constitute federal felonies and are subject
to fines and imprisonment.  The Migratory Bird Conservation Act
authorizes the funding and maintenance of wild migratory bird
refuges. (see MIGRATE case)

     The controversy over Canada geese concerns whether or not they
are, in fact, migratory and hence privy to federal protection.
Canada geese--as their name implies--until recent years regularly
migrated to northern Canada for the summer.  But over the last 20-
25 years, many geese have chosen to remain south of the border, and
the populations of these non-migratory geese have grown into the
millions, with geese situated in eastern states from Maine down to
Virginia.  Aerial observations of some flocks have led to the
conclusion the number of geese has doubled since 1975 and will
continue to grow if present trends continue. 

Link 1

And just in case you want to get into the meat of it, here's the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, as amended:

Link 2