When threatened, Canada geese quickly escape fear and return to their original state, as if the threat had never existed.
If you ask any North American the question: “What is the most savage, terrifying animal on Earth?”, you will likely be surprised by the somewhat humorous answer. It’s not lions, tigers, bears, or any large predator; the answer is: the Canada goose.
Canada Goose – the scariest animal to North Americans
To the people of North America, geese seem to have been born from hell and sent to Earth solely to create chaos. These brave “warriors” care little about who their enemy is; the only thing they focus on is how to aggressively crush their opponent. Much like badgers, Canada geese will attack anyone or anything that comes close, regardless of size.
Thus, in the battle between North Americans and Canada geese, the victory proudly belongs to these aggressive creatures.
This animal frequently attacks any enemies that dare to approach
According to a recent report from the University of Illinois, the usual methods to scare off geese seem to have no effect on Canada geese, and because of this, their territory is increasingly expanding.
Research by Dr. Ryan Askren indicates: “When these geese are not disturbed, they choose to leave human areas because it benefits them, and there is a food source elsewhere that they want to access.
However, if they feel disturbed by humans, the reason for them to stay has emerged. At the same time, the availability of water and food will be key factors influencing this animal’s movement.”
Using GPS tracking devices, researchers have accurately found out what these geese do after being disturbed by humans. Within just one hour of being chased away, they will return to urban areas instead of heading to a more secluded place as we might hope, and continue their usual activities.
This animal often visits parks or crowded neighborhoods
To explain this behavior, scientists applied the Occam’s Razor principle. This principle states that the simplest explanation for an event is often the most accurate; by “shaving” away all unrelated hypotheses, what remains is the truth.
Simply put, the only reason the flock of geese returns to town is that they want something in the area and are indifferent to any other obstacles, specifically the disturbance from humans.
Therefore, researchers note that the only way to truly drive them away is to “eliminate” them entirely, but this does not receive public support.
North Americans must accept coexisting with Canada geese.
Overall, just as Australians have to learn to live with emus, North Americans may also have to accept coexistence with Canada geese, simply because they are indifferent to whatever we do.
Or we could think of more positive aspects, such as hiring them as security guards or house sitters, what do you think?
