People often view geese as aggressive birds that hiss at strangers in the park. However, these waterfowl are actually incredibly loyal and intelligent creatures. For instance, they mate for life and mourn deeply if their partner dies. Furthermore, history shows that Romans used them as effective guard animals. Consequently, understanding their behavior explains why they rule the pond. Therefore, take a gander at these fascinating secrets. You will respect the honk.
Geese
Geese have “teeth” on their tongues. specifically, they possess serrated cartilage called tomia that lines their beaks and tongues to help them grip slippery food.
They fly in a V-formation to save energy. By flying this way, the birds behind the leader draft off the air currents. Thus, the whole flock travels further with less effort.
They are famously monogamous. Once they find a mate, they usually stay together for their entire lives.
They mourn their dead. If a partner or gosling dies, the remaining goose often withdraws from the flock and acts depressed.
The Romans used them as guard animals. Because geese are territorial and loud, ancient Romans relied on them to alert soldiers of approaching enemies.
Bar-headed geese fly over the Himalayas. Impressively, this species can climb to altitudes of over 20,000 feet to cross the mountain range.
They refuse to leave an injured bird behind. If a goose gets sick or wounded during migration, two other geese will land and stay with it until it recovers or dies.
A male is called a gander. Conversely, people properly call a female a goose, and a baby is a gosling.
They lose their flight feathers once a year. During this molting period, they cannot fly at all for several weeks. Therefore, they stay near water for safety.
Geese are excellent weed controllers. In fact, farmers sometimes use them to clear weeds from fields because they are voracious grazers.
They sleep with one eye open. Like ducks, they can shut down one half of their brain to rest while the other half watches for predators.
Their vision includes ultraviolet light. Consequently, they see colors and patterns on flowers and feathers that human eyes cannot detect.
They can live a very long time. While wild geese live around 10 to 15 years, domestic geese can live over 20 years with good care.
Goslings imprint on the first thing they see. Therefore, if a human is the first moving object they encounter, they will follow that person everywhere.
Finally, they rotate leadership during flight. When the lead goose gets tired fighting the wind, it moves to the back, and another goose takes the front position.
