By Laura Klotzkin, staff writer
The infamous geese of Daemen University have made their return to campus to terrorize another group of students and faculty alike.
“I saw one goose that was patrolling one strip of road. And it was a strip of road that people needed to cross to get to campus,” freshman animation major Tristan Robinson said. Robinson explains how he was able to see a goose from outside his window in Canavan Hall.
Efforts have been made to get rid of the goose couple who have made their home on campus. All of these efforts have been futile. Since last article published on the campus geese last year, the eco shed on campus that the geese nested on has been taken down. This hasn’t let the two stop them, as they’ve decided to keep staying here with us.
The geese are Canadian geese, which are federally protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
“I’ve seen it attack two people, chase it across the strip. Once they cross the strip, the geese leave them alone,” Robinson said.
“Yes, I got chased by one. I was screaming, it was only for a minute,” a student who wished to remain anonymous said.
As a reminder for everyone on campus, take care to keep some distance from the geese and that it is illegal to harm the geese, their eggs and hatchlings, and their nests.
“As our feathered friends will be with us until the end of May, we want to make sure we respect their nest while going about our daily lives,” the Emergency Response Team said in an email to campus on March 24.
“I am aware that the geese are back,” said Dr. Gerald Erion, professor of psychology. “I actually first learned this from our campus alert email, but since then I’ve seen them around many times.”
“Whenever people did come across it, the goose just kind of watched and stared until the people who were crossing left,” Robinson said. “At times, the people messed with the goose or tried to touch it. That’s when the goose would get aggressive and attack.”
The important thing to keep in mind regarding the geese is the advice given through the emails sent around to campus by Daemen’s Emergency Response Team, and to give them space, since they are territorial.
Regardless of whether the geese are a positive or negative presence on the Daemen campus, they are here to stay.
“Well, I see the geese pretty often, and I try to give them their space,” Erion said. “The campus alert had some good advice about this, and I know it’s probably stressful for them when we get too close.”
“I think they are okay, I don’t want them to relocate,” the anonymous said. “I just wish I saw a sign somewhere saying ‘hey geese family may chase you here’ then I would have walked the long way. Or parked somewhere else, not behind Canavan.”
Despite the goose’s disdain for us, many feel that the pair is a welcome presence behind Canavan.
“I’m still relatively new here myself, but I’m glad they’re back,” said Erion. “Daemen has some great neighbors, I’d count the geese among them.”