7 ms·
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
by shortoncash 10y ago
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.
- JoeAltmaier 10y agoI imagine they haven't come to expect food from bicyclists.
- TACIXAT 10y agoBells 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.
- masmullin 10y ago> 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.
- Diederich 10y agoThere can be hundreds of them at Shoreline park in Mountain View, CA, and I've never seen one act aggro. Strange. :(
- nkoren 10y agoThis 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.
- throwanem 10y ago> 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.
- dghughes 10y agoI wonder if people with long necks are more intimidating to geese.
- throwanem 10y agoThat'd be a fun experiment to try to design.
- dghughes 10y agoThis is your man: https://www.google.ca/search?q=chinese+boy+with+long+neck&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi53OX4x73QAhXp4IMKHYArC9wQ_AUICCgB&biw=1920&bih=1022 https://www.google.ca/search?q=chinese+boy+with+long+neck&sa...
- theluketaylor 10y agoBeing 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.
- crazypyro 10y agoProbably helps to be on a fast moving bike that could look like a predator compared to a slow walking human...
- tga_d 10y agoI 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.
- callalex 10y agoThe joys of Fremont where the city budget includes hiring dogs to chase geese because people keep feeding them.
- 1_2__3 10y agoYou are completely wrong, as any biologist with even a passing knowledge of geese will tell you. They are absolutely aggressive and vicious.
- 1_2__3 10y agoYou are completely wrong, as any biologist with even a passing knowledge of geese will tell you. They are absolutely aggressive and vicious.