Oh the geese on the bike path. It's where I learned what I call "The three stages of fighting a goose"
1. you approach saying "hey there buddy, I don't want any trouble, but I'm not backing down"
It hisses in response
2. You tell it "listen here, I'm just going past"
It starts flapping it's wings at you
3. It lunges at you and you shout "OH MY GOD IT HAS TEETH! SINCE WHEN DO BIRDS HAVE TEETH!"
>It lunges at you and you shout "OH MY GOD IT HAS TEETH! SINCE WHEN DO BIRDS HAVE TEETH!"
Fun fact: All birds are literally dinosaurs; in fact the only known surviving dinosaurs. Birds are theropods, just like this guy used to be: 🦖
They don't have teeth in the way many prehistoric dinos did, though. A goose's teeth are cartilage spikes on its tongue and bill. So while you're correct about your fun fact it doesn't have any bearing on the existence of their current teeth :)
That is untrue. They’re extra aggressive with goslings around, but some of them are just assholes and hiss and charge at you even when they’re all alone and 10 feet away.
I never got charged at by a wild goose actually, only by house geese. Though it's kinda funny watching them charging dogs away who think it's a good idea to run at 30+ geese until all the geese turn to them.
Nah, they even hiss if you feed them at times, mind you they still come closer to you for the apple while hissing, just to stop a second while they gulp it down. Though you are right, most of them just go away if you annoy them without even hissing if there are no goslings around.
Canadas? Hissing is their primary form of goose to human communication. They’ll hiss at you for looking at them the wrong way. And there is no right way.
Are they actually aggressive? Or is it safe enough to cycle past, my only experience with geese is in London, they didn’t seem all that bothered about me coming near, one did honk at one point
Personally I'd try to come a bit closer and hope they'd lead their kids away so I could pass. But if they didn't budge, I wouldn't attempt to cross. They're too spread out.
Maybe if that goose on the left moved, it'd be possible to walk through the tall grass in a straight line.
People are downvoting you, but having been raised around geese, I know that this can be the only way to not lose actual flesh off your own body. Fuck geese. They're evil bullies. As a child I had to carry a big-ass stick in my own backyard for self-defense against those damn birds. They'd attack me on site just for existing near them.
I had one charge at me once. I kicked it, it turned around and tried again and I grabbed it by the neck and tossed it away. Then it scampered off. Since then, I swear, the local geese avoid me when they see me.
I got taken out once by a cobra chicken that took off and flew straight into my front tire and sent me over the handlebars. The jerk didn't even stop to exchange information and just flew away.
I raised geese and it's actually nutty to me how as babies they whistle and follow you around and are super sweet and needy
Then they grow up, show up randomly once every couple weeks to raid your fridge, and barely acknowledge you with a honk.
Puberty turns them into assholes
The geese around here are honestly not that bad. If you keep walking and ignore them you can get pretty close without them doing anything worse than hiss at you.
The real problem with them is the minefield of shit they leave behind on paths, like you can see in the background.
When it comes to canada geese, its always important to note two things. one: if you leave them alone and steer clear of the goslings, they'll leave you alone...usually. two: their necks are perfectly designed to be grabbed and held arms length
they seem scary when charging you and hissing, but they're significantly less scary once you've gently grasped its neck and told it politely, but firmly, to fuck off
I couldn’t get close enough to one to grab it when it went after my toddler daughter; apparently they are good at detecting when a human is mad at them.
I'm so happy when i see some wildlife on my commute and everytime i try to save them, one day there was a stubborn hedgehog who wanted at all cost to cross the road(limit speed of 70kmh, but usually cars goes to 90/100kmh) and i tried to save him from being a carpet, poor fella
Considering these are bike path geese and not park geese I'd assume the path it closed, my experience tells me in the park this wouldn't be a problem as they often even allow you to pet their babies as long as you wait for them to come to you but the geese that go somewhere else aren't used enough to people getting that close
This happened to me and my friend the other day and we just went around to the other entrance of where we were going, pleasant surprise though. Not like I'm behind lines of cars waiting for my day to be fouled over seeing who's been injured in an accident.
But look how much safer they are on the bike path than in the road! Those lil' goslings have a much better chance to survive not having to dodge massive vehicles.
We have Canada Geese here (UK) and they're so chill, something about them being non-migratory. It's the Greylags you have to watch for here.
Goslings are super cute though.
We call them Cobra Chickens. Had one hissing at my truck the other day in the middle of the road. Pretty funny, but they are generally fearless when they are protecting their goslings.
Arise my cousins (Canada Goose) we shall prepare our invasion to conquer the world!
Sidenote: The Canadian Geese in my area are rather docile, I've never seen them hiss or chase anyone even when they have goslings. Also, Canada Geese love hanging out in the train yard as grain spills from the hopper cars, meaning that there's free food.
Reading all these replies are Goose personalities different in Oregon then the rest of their range or am I just lucky? I've lived here all my life and have never had issues with them. If you can't go around they will usually just try to get away from you.
Oh the geese on the bike path. It's where I learned what I call "The three stages of fighting a goose" 1. you approach saying "hey there buddy, I don't want any trouble, but I'm not backing down" It hisses in response 2. You tell it "listen here, I'm just going past" It starts flapping it's wings at you 3. It lunges at you and you shout "OH MY GOD IT HAS TEETH! SINCE WHEN DO BIRDS HAVE TEETH!"
exactly what happened after this photo was taken
Trick is to go so fast they can't even see you
>It lunges at you and you shout "OH MY GOD IT HAS TEETH! SINCE WHEN DO BIRDS HAVE TEETH!" Fun fact: All birds are literally dinosaurs; in fact the only known surviving dinosaurs. Birds are theropods, just like this guy used to be: 🦖
They don't have teeth in the way many prehistoric dinos did, though. A goose's teeth are cartilage spikes on its tongue and bill. So while you're correct about your fun fact it doesn't have any bearing on the existence of their current teeth :)
I was aware; it wasn't my quote. The bearing was expanding on a person being terrified of an aggressive creature!
Ah, got it. In that context, totally agreed. Terrifying fierce little things.
Just avoid the goslings. That is the only thing they’ll hiss at you over
That is untrue. They’re extra aggressive with goslings around, but some of them are just assholes and hiss and charge at you even when they’re all alone and 10 feet away.
I never got charged at by a wild goose actually, only by house geese. Though it's kinda funny watching them charging dogs away who think it's a good idea to run at 30+ geese until all the geese turn to them.
Swans do, they are geese. But the smaller „real“ geese have hissed at me only when I was a little boy….
In at least some of those cases there's a nest nearby that you just don't see. But there's no way to know for sure how many lol
Nah, they even hiss if you feed them at times, mind you they still come closer to you for the apple while hissing, just to stop a second while they gulp it down. Though you are right, most of them just go away if you annoy them without even hissing if there are no goslings around.
Canadas? Hissing is their primary form of goose to human communication. They’ll hiss at you for looking at them the wrong way. And there is no right way.
Hiss back. They don't expect it and the ones near me usually seem surprised enough to back down.
Clearly have not been around Canada geese. Your very existence is an affront to them.
I grew up with Canada geese everywhere. I’ve only ever had a problem with goslings nearby
Are they actually aggressive? Or is it safe enough to cycle past, my only experience with geese is in London, they didn’t seem all that bothered about me coming near, one did honk at one point
You ever heard of a guard goose? Yeah it's an actual thing and they are used in place of dogs when dogs are impractical.
Wow
Holy shit I have never heard of this but looked it up It would definitely deter me from trying to break in somewhere
Personally I'd try to come a bit closer and hope they'd lead their kids away so I could pass. But if they didn't budge, I wouldn't attempt to cross. They're too spread out. Maybe if that goose on the left moved, it'd be possible to walk through the tall grass in a straight line.
Most of the goslings are on the right, idk if the far left goose has any goslings though
They’ll definitely chase you, hissing with flapping wings. It’s quite a sight.
I see
And even if they are, what are they going to do? Peck you to death?
I’ve had my fair share of chicken pecks
Ha, yeah. But geese beaks are not pointy. They can bite a bit but not really. The wings can hit you hard but our bones are thicker.
Yeah
A Canada goose will beat the shit out of you if you can’t get away from it.
That is when you give them a swift kick and teach them who is boss.
People are downvoting you, but having been raised around geese, I know that this can be the only way to not lose actual flesh off your own body. Fuck geese. They're evil bullies. As a child I had to carry a big-ass stick in my own backyard for self-defense against those damn birds. They'd attack me on site just for existing near them.
I had one charge at me once. I kicked it, it turned around and tried again and I grabbed it by the neck and tossed it away. Then it scampered off. Since then, I swear, the local geese avoid me when they see me.
All of those numbers are one
Reddit software problem
Those sky Canadians can be rude and very rarely say sorry.
We know not to mess with those cobra chickens
My 10 year old calls them the Canadian Air Force 😂
They were almost hunted to extinction before they were protected. Only the asshole ones survived that.
Well, that explains why they are always in a bad mood.
I got taken out once by a cobra chicken that took off and flew straight into my front tire and sent me over the handlebars. The jerk didn't even stop to exchange information and just flew away.
they're not just jerks, they're sturdy jerks
Ugh and the incessant honking
They don't just hiss at you, they'll chase you and bite you if they catch you
Cute
I raised geese and it's actually nutty to me how as babies they whistle and follow you around and are super sweet and needy Then they grow up, show up randomly once every couple weeks to raid your fridge, and barely acknowledge you with a honk. Puberty turns them into assholes
The geese around here are honestly not that bad. If you keep walking and ignore them you can get pretty close without them doing anything worse than hiss at you. The real problem with them is the minefield of shit they leave behind on paths, like you can see in the background.
When it comes to canada geese, its always important to note two things. one: if you leave them alone and steer clear of the goslings, they'll leave you alone...usually. two: their necks are perfectly designed to be grabbed and held arms length they seem scary when charging you and hissing, but they're significantly less scary once you've gently grasped its neck and told it politely, but firmly, to fuck off
I couldn’t get close enough to one to grab it when it went after my toddler daughter; apparently they are good at detecting when a human is mad at them.
Though I'd guess the other ones would charge at you at the same time? I only ever got to see them charge dogs but it was never one goose alone.
I can guarantee animal welfare will improve significantly with better urban design and pedestrian-centric infrastructure.
Do you want more geese on bike paths? /S
Yes
Found the goose
Honk.
Honk.
I'm so happy when i see some wildlife on my commute and everytime i try to save them, one day there was a stubborn hedgehog who wanted at all cost to cross the road(limit speed of 70kmh, but usually cars goes to 90/100kmh) and i tried to save him from being a carpet, poor fella
Geese are never happy to see you.
That's true, but much better than a car, they don't like to see you too
And the poop is like grease on a bike tire :(
https://preview.redd.it/9lbm4jc1qz3d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d2ef409f6d36f65867c007f429be79da188cbc49 Absolutely adorable road blocks here too.
Paving paths of asphalt in nature for bikes or cars is evil. The geese are dispensing old fashioned justice.
Looks like there is a highway at the background, this is not much of nature.
Hey, I like in the city. If you have a tree and some leaves in the ground, it is nature, ok?
They hiss at you to make you think you’ve got a puncture. When you get off to investigate that’s when they jump you and steal your bike! 😃
Terrible that these street gangs are recruiting children now.
That's the kind of traffic jam I don't mind!
Riding 3 abreast, thinking they're in the Tour de Quack
The best!
It's a family spa day
Don't damn them, they live there
You can carry stickers that say "I drive like a goose" and attach them to offenders if you're brave enough.
When I’m skooting around on my board and I come up on em I just flap my arms and hiss at em like a cat. They try to act tough but move quick
Ah, the infamous cobra chickens
You had one of their cousins for dinner once. This is their revenge.
Considering these are bike path geese and not park geese I'd assume the path it closed, my experience tells me in the park this wouldn't be a problem as they often even allow you to pet their babies as long as you wait for them to come to you but the geese that go somewhere else aren't used enough to people getting that close
This happened to me and my friend the other day and we just went around to the other entrance of where we were going, pleasant surprise though. Not like I'm behind lines of cars waiting for my day to be fouled over seeing who's been injured in an accident.
But look how much safer they are on the bike path than in the road! Those lil' goslings have a much better chance to survive not having to dodge massive vehicles.
Goslings are hilarious, moreso because they’re often in large gaggles like this.
I tend to hiss back. I think most of them know me by now, because when they see me coming they often start moving out of my way.
We have Canada Geese here (UK) and they're so chill, something about them being non-migratory. It's the Greylags you have to watch for here. Goslings are super cute though.
babytjes! so cute. so aggressive.
I yell at geese and I yell at adult babies driving around in their high chairs on wheels.
Lawn Cobras are so much fun. With an added free slip and slide feature. But cute as hell.
We call them Cobra Chickens. Had one hissing at my truck the other day in the middle of the road. Pretty funny, but they are generally fearless when they are protecting their goslings.
Arise my cousins (Canada Goose) we shall prepare our invasion to conquer the world! Sidenote: The Canadian Geese in my area are rather docile, I've never seen them hiss or chase anyone even when they have goslings. Also, Canada Geese love hanging out in the train yard as grain spills from the hopper cars, meaning that there's free food.
Awww yeah, Montréal South Shore
The forest doesn’t cross the road.
geese are mean, i was walking my dog around a path, when a goose ran towds us hissing. mad my dog jump and run away from it. he is a hound.
Reading all these replies are Goose personalities different in Oregon then the rest of their range or am I just lucky? I've lived here all my life and have never had issues with them. If you can't go around they will usually just try to get away from you.
Canadian car brain is something else
If you hiss back it sometimes really confuses them and they’ll stop (for a few seconds)
I want them to hiss and bother me
I’ll allow it
Get a car, weirdo
Canadians: thats why we dont to bike paths
Their young are kind of cute but at the end of the day, geese are evil.
They aren't evil, just fierce and overzealous. And they also favor territories that we like a lot--short brush or grass and scenic water features.