Canada Goose Facts

Canada Goose Profile

Conservationists hope that at some point, preferably before all animals become extinct, we’ll realise we can’t just kill everything that mildly inconveniences us.

This is particularly true of animals whose homes we have replaced with our own. 

Until then, geese will retain their terrible reputation and sit at the top of the list along with wasps and mosquitos as the worst animals in the world. Canada geese, though relatively petite, are some of the worst offenders.

But the truth is, they only partially deserve it. 

Canada Goose Facts Overview

Canada geese are very good-looking and large water birds that despite their arrogance, highlight an attitude of supremacy in humans, who build large recreational areas of grass and water at the expense of the local fauna, and then get all pissy when the geese come to live in it.

Canada geese have a bad reputation and this extends way beyond humans. Their whole schtick is to be loud and scary, but if you call their bluff, you might find they have nothing to back it up with.

Interesting Canada Goose Facts

1. They’re Brantas

Brantas as a genus of waterfowl, and members of the true goose family. There are two genera of true goose: the white geese, in the genus Anser, and the black geese: these guys. 

The Canada goose is the largest in the genus, and consequently the most intimidating. But in the same way that fictional TV clowns can be scary, they are just about as dangerous. 

2. They’re jerks (for a good reason)

There are some common legendary factoids about geese and swans that cover the dangers they can pose to a person. It’s likely some very large and masculine human once peed his pants when a goose hissed at him and had to make up some imaginary threat to justify it. 

Geese are jerks, no doubt. But they’re harmless jerks. Unless one is frozen and dropped out of a balloon onto a person, there’s no way a goose could ever be medically significant. They have hollow bones and no bite strength, so if anything breaks during an altercation with a human limb, it’ll be them. 

Still, most animals, including big strong apes, don’t know this about them. And the geese take advantage of this fact as a fantastic bluff of a survival skill. 

Very little wants to start a fight with a large, hissing dinosaur who clearly looks like it thinks it could win. So, you can find bizarre scenes in which a Canada goose is effortlessly rebuffing the aggression of a cow 100 times its mass. 

And, of course, the myths and legends around them that help cowardly primates feel justified about their soggy bottoms. ¹

3. They’re highly migratory

Those hollow bones are necessary for such a large animal to take to the air (this is why the same logic doesn’t apply to a clawed kicker like the cassowary or secretary bird – do not call their bluff!), and Canada geese are excellent long-distance athletes. 

Migrations are fast and efficient, and the geese will team up in large numbers to get through one. They can be seen flying at altitudes of up to 9,000 metres, in a distinctive V-Shape, and can travel up to 5,000 km and back again within the course of a year. ²

4. But they’re beginning to stick around more

But to the surprise of many, climate change is beginning to change the climate, and the need for overwintering sites is lessening in some populations of these geese. This means that some places are staying warm for longer, and not getting as cold in the Winter. 

Further, increased urbanisation brings with it luxuries such as gold courses and public parks. And these are prime real estate for the Canada goose. ³

5. They thrive in artificial habitats

Geese love grass almost as much as they love water. And this makes sense because they eat grass and live on water. Humans do neither, and so their affinity for the grass-water combo is purely gluttonous. 

Yet, when humans create this viable habitat for geese, they feel so entitled to it that they complain when the geese choose to set up shop.

This is a product of a lack of understanding and respect for ecology, coupled with the sense that geese are some dangerous animal that can’t just be picked up and tossed if it gets too close. ⁴

6. They can be a pest

Humans are a funny lot. They cut down forests, replace them with parks and golf courses and then complain that the animals are shitting everywhere. 

Lots of folks don’t like geese because they get angry when you get too close to them. But then, this usually happens when people are trying to walk around a body of water, which is exactly where geese live. 

Canada geese are also blamed for covering golf courses with poo, which is another thing you should expect if you put water and grass all over the place. 

But, they can be legitimately frightening, especially to children. Geese are protective of their own, and stand taller than a 3-year-old who’s just learning how to run without falling over. 

So, while most of the complaints against them are unfair, part of living in harmony with nature is knowing how to mitigate its potential threat. If this means staying out of the park while the geese are trying to reproduce, local authorities should take this into account and provide adequate warnings. 

And ultimately, it comes down to an understanding that if a giant goose was traipsing through your newborn’s bedroom, you’d hopefully try and chase it off, too. 

Canada Goose Fact-File Summary

Scientific Classification

1. Daily News (2018), “Courageous goose doesn’t back down from group of charging cows”, YouTube.
2. (2020), “8 cool things you should know about Canada geese”, IOWA Department of Natural Resources.
3. Brian Handwerk (2020), “Do Canada geese still fly south for winter? Yes, but it’s complicated”, National Geographic.
4. “Canada Goose”, IUCN Red List.