I've seen this behavior from time to time. A goose stretches it's neck out as far as it can and lowers it to the water, cackling with it's mouth wide open. Occasionally it results in blows, but most times it dissipates after the goose blows off some steam.
Maybe they are talking about finances or why his mother's coming for Easter or why he didn't take out the garbage before he left for work. You get the idea.
Meanwhile, he is pretty much ignoring her. Let her have her say. She is half right. She'll vent a little bit and we can move on.
Once in a while, it escalates into something more. Why? I don't know. I don't speak Canadian. A few other species also do this same kind of posturing and, wouldn't you know it, they all have long necks, so it is easy to spot. Great Blue Herons and Swans will also assume this kind of threat posture.
If it gets to this point, you had better get out of the way. Domestic geese will go after people like this just for fun. I use to go to a farm with my dad when I was a kid a couple of times a week. For sport, I always use to try to sneak up on a goose that stayed behind the barn. I never could. It was always waiting and wanting a piece of me.
I have never seen the victim seriously injured by these arguments, but that doesn't mean they don't want to harm one another. Geese are usually the biggest bully on the block and get their way in a dispute involving pecking order. But tomorrow, I'll post an example of when the tables get turned.
No comments:
Post a Comment