Step away and no one gets hurt.

The other day I arrived at one of my sites and found 25 people gathered around a few pairs of geese feeding and trying to pet them. Most were moms and their small children. I'll post later about the potential health problems to people and humans from this behavior. Now I will just address the safety aspect.

In the early spring, geese start to pair for breeding and become quite aggressive and territorial. Every year there are numerous stories about people being injured when they are suddenly attacked by "friendly geese." I know they look cute and harmless, that is till they are flying at you at full speed from behind.

Now for the part people are going to get mad about. In most cases the attack was caused by the carelessness of the person attacked. The geese do not need you to feed them, and trying to get close to them is asking for trouble. All the goose knows is that they are protecting their mate, nesting site, and eggs or young. If you find yourself faced with an aggressive goose, do not turn your back on it. Spread your arms wide and "hiss" loudly at the goose as you slowly back away. OK, so people may look at you funny, but it beats a trip to the ER.

Use the gooses language to convey the message. You want the goose to think you are too big for them to fight. If you turn your back and run, it's telling the goose that he has made you back down, which for some reason just triggers them to push you away faster by attacking. Slowly backing away with your arms spread says I'm bigger and not afraid to fight you.

I use this approach every year with great success. In Spring I temporally push the geese off their nests to oil(birth control) or count their eggs and have only been attacked once. Yep, you guessed it, I was in a hurry and was not paying attention. Fortunately I had bent over to pick up a pen and the goose missed me. Remember that these are wild animals and not the stuff of fairy tales or Disney movies. Treat them with the respect they deserve - especially during breeding and nesting season - and you will get along fine.