University of Waterloo created a goose-tracking map, because geese are bullies | Hacker News Reader

University of Waterloo created a goose-tracking map, because geese are bullies

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84 pointsTomte54 comments

There was a door on campus that was locked, had signs up and was unusable for a good few years due to a goose that kept nesting right out side of it.

They are incredibly aggressive and I most people don't realize how much damage they can actually inflict.

Worst part is they are a protected species and hurting them even in self-defense could land you a hefty fine.

This and your Tim Horton's coffee getting cold instantly because its -40* are the key Canadian problems.

Walking Wascana park in Regina during nesting season was horrible. 7KG of hissing angry protective goose while trying to navigate paths. Saw them chasing down some other pedestrians, one guy slipped and got pecked a few times.

Beautiful birds though.

Not to mention all the bird crap that gets everywhere. It got to the point where I'd only walk around Wascana when it was raining out to avoid them as much as possible

Were there cameras at the door? Else the problem is easily fixed some dark night.

I find taking an average 8 year old and 6 year old kid with you for protection works like a charm. As aggressive as geese can be, if they see my kids come charging at them (which they do, because they're farm kids and don't really seem to give much of a about anything), they tend to run away.

Your mileage may vary XD

There is a hunting season for Canada Geese so it's perfectly legal to shoot them. I've had goose with the bird shot still in it; not very tasty.

https://www.ec.gc.ca/rcom-mbhr/default.asp?lang=En&n=99FDEC5...

But only in certain areas. It's never legal to kill a goose on campus or even inside city limits.

Geese are smart enough to understand this and avoid lakes in areas where hunting is allowed.

Obviously you don't want people discharging firearms on campus. But I think if you had a couple of weeks out of the year where bow / spear hunting was legal in city parks then the geese would be much less aggressive.

> It's never legal to kill a goose ... inside city limits.

Well, that sounds like a problem that can be solved with a net and a truck.

> so it's perfectly legal to shoot them

...but probably not on campus.

Yes, the protected status is also the case in the US from what I can tell, though they can be hunted during a hunting season at least in some states. This season the path to my apartment was typically blocked by geese because the path cuts through wide lawns that they frequent.

So I'm hearing that there's a market for travel mugs that can maintain crucible-level temperature differentials and repel geese...

I was once chased by a flock of geese, honking and half-flying, nipping and twisting with their devil beaks... until I hid in a horse stall.

Evil... evil creatures.

protected yes, but can be hunted during hunting seasons.

I can confirm canadian geese are jerks; especially while nesting they bite. Really hard.

When I was at UW we wanted to start a kill the geese club, but the student union doesn't allow clubs focused on violence.

Turns out there is something worse than ornery birds on the way to class. With just some notebooks you can just run away. I golf a lot and having to turn your back on some geese a few meters away to take a shot is terrifying. I was bitten by a goose as a kid and don't want to go through it again.

A lot of UW's international students also don't realize that Canada Geese are protected species here. It's a crime to harm them in any fashion.

I'm sure as a UW student you saw the days when cars would stop on Columbia (a major road) because Geese were crossing by the dozens.

There's an open hunting season for Canada Geese. In southern ontario it's most days between September 8 through Dec 28 except for Sundays, so it's not always a crime to harm them.

Not an international student and the club idea was more a joke than anything (though once we were told we weren't allowed it became more of a passion)

I assume using projectile weapons in the city would be frowned upon, but would it be legal to capture/kill them by other means during that period?

North American hunting laws generally frown on snaring or trapping unless you specifically are licensed for that. Too much opportunity for cruelty, even if inadvertent.

That probably doesn't help you in the case of running them over on a city street.

I can confirm canadian geese are jerks; especially while nesting they bite. Really hard.

To be fair, it's the humans that have encroached on the geese's territory. Of course they will defend themselves, it's only natural.

A Gøøse once bit my sister

You folk moved from Sweden ?

(The letter ø doesn't actually exist in Swedish. Swedish uses ö, Danish and Norvegian use ø.)

The "Swedish" in the Monty Python and the Holy Grail opening credits, however, curiously enough uses ø. (As well as another character that also is not a Swedish character, ë).

Accuracy is not always completely necessary in comedy. :)

Geese are superb guard animals who historically raised the alarm and began the initial defence of Rome against a sneak night attack.

No surprise that they guard their nests just as efficiently.

Leave my feathered cousins alone! :-)

Having lived in central Virginia most of my life (near the James River where they have taken up residence [0]), I will say that I'm surprised how effective geese are at stopping traffic and getting the other geese across a street. These things can be a nuisance sometimes and get "snippy" when protecting their young but I'm incredibly fascinated at how good they are at getting humans to do their bidding.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose#Distribution_and_...

Geese aren't bullies at all. I ride my bike on paths that pass ponds and fields where there are a lot of geese. Geese will politely move out of the way almost every time I encounter them. You can't get this sort of behavior out of joggers, dogs, or children. Bells and horns won't work. Geese just know what to do.

I have not encountered more civilized and well-mannered birds than Canadian geese. Their manners more than make up for their pooping everywhere.

I grew up by a lake in the bay area that was a very popular spot for Canadian geese, to the point they are considered a pest and have to clear them out every so often, and I currently go to UWaterloo. I can assure you that the geese behave very differently in these locations. I've had maybe two incidents with geese in the bay area, and that was just some hissing because I got too close. Here in Waterloo, I've seen them chase people for about a hundred yards on a few occasions, and lost count of how many times I've been hissed at or had them strike one of their aggression poses towards me, especially during nesting season. For whatever reason (I'm guessing something to do with nesting and migration patterns), they are definitely more aggressive here.

The joys of Fremont where the city budget includes hiring dogs to chase geese because people keep feeding them.

Bells work a lot better when they're rang 5-10 seconds away. I don't know why every cyclist thinks I can react and get my dog to move in under 2 seconds.

> I have not encountered more civilized and well-mannered birds than Canadian geese.

What Waaaaattt???

Canada geese are extremely vicious creatures, especially when one goes anywhere near their young.

Your experience with Canada Geese is 180deg opposite from the experience I and everyone I have ever known has had with them.

This is really dissonant to read. White geese, yes: territorial and ill-tempered. But the Canada geese I've known have been polite almost to a fault. Protective of their young -- but in a very civilised fashion. When I was a kid, I got to know one family of Canada geese particularly well, and after a while they were politely waiting their turn to literally eat out of my hand. Really lovely creatures.

There can be hundreds of them at Shoreline park in Mountain View, CA, and I've never seen one act aggro.

Strange. :(

Being on a bike has spared you their true nature. If you were just walking by they would hiss, squawk, and chase you flapping their wings. They are real jerks, especially when nesting.

> I ride my bike on paths that pass ponds and fields where there are a lot of geese. Geese will politely move out of the way almost every time I encounter them.

You are clearly larger and faster than they are when riding a bicycle. Approaching them on foot may elicit a very different response.

I wonder if people with long necks are more intimidating to geese.

That'd be a fun experiment to try to design.

This is your man: https://www.google.ca/search?q=chinese+boy+with+long+neck&sa...

I imagine they haven't come to expect food from bicyclists.

You are completely wrong, as any biologist with even a passing knowledge of geese will tell you. They are absolutely aggressive and vicious.

Probably helps to be on a fast moving bike that could look like a predator compared to a slow walking human...

Seriously, geese and swans are the meanest birds I've dealt with, they make Blue Jays look like amateurs. I remember during Spring where I lived (which was by a public park) the geese would nest and they had no qualms with even trying to pick fights with cars driving by. You'd think their brain would process that it's not a water buffalo and it will trample them to death after enough encounters.

… tasty, tasty bullies.

If they're a nuisance, and they taste good, why not just let folks catch and eat them?

They can be:

"Are Canada Geese protected and can they be hunted?

Yes, Canada Geese are protected under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 (MBCA). This Act arose from an international treaty -- the Migratory Birds Convention -- between Canada and the United States, signed in 1916. The MBCA provides for the protection and conservation of migratory birds, and prohibits people from harming birds, except under specified conditions. Several species, including Canada geese, are considered game birds and may be hunted. The Act gives the federal government the responsibility to establish hunting seasons, and Canada Geese are greatly appreciated by migratory game bird hunters across the country. More than 500 000 Canada Geese are taken in Canada each year by hunters." [1]

1: http://www.ec.gc.ca/mbc-com/default.asp?lang=en&n=98A918B1-1...

Canadian geese are pretty tough to bring down. My dad has been hunting them on the St. Lawrence for the last 25 years. Since they outlawed lead shot, there are a lot more geese that get shot and limp off, rather than come down. The various new bismuth and other heavy shot types work a little better than steel, but are very expensive.

Goose is also kind of an acquired taste. Some people don't like it, as it is kind of gamey, and if you don't know what you're doing it is pretty easy to over-cook it and turn it into shoe-leather.

Seems like goose jerky would be a good idea.

Not necessarily tasty. The non-migratory geese taste like ass.

When I lived in N.E. Florida they were everywhere too. I looked into this franchise that uses trained herding dogs to get the geese to move on. The geese learn not to come back. I learned that each state has its own laws about geese, and during nesting periods it may be illegal to harass them. In other periods it may be allowed. Interesting business idea, but I never moved on it.

https://www.geesepoliceinc.com

I'm from the area. Golfing is annoying here, i've had to "assert dominance" to get my ball back more than once.

Um. Aim for them?

"People bitten, knocked down, or chased by geese" was a staple on Funniest Home Videos.

The ones with toddlers never ended well...

I first read that as goose-stepping tracking map. But I can agree geese can be nasty. Swans too.

can confirm, was forced off the sidewalk thanks to geese and the sidewalk was double-wide. they're real mean :/

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