For the last month a pair of Canada geese has been making Bolender Park in Elmira home – but not by choice.
One of the birds seems to have a broken right wing: approaching the goose causes it to run and squawk, flapping its wings, but it can’t seem to catch flight.
Elmira resident Gord Maier has been keeping an eye on the birds since first noticing them in the park.
“I drive by (the park) everyday… and I have seen that there have been 50 geese there and then there was two, always the same two. It has been three weeks and I noticed that the one bird’s wing was kind of hanging weird and I eventually sorted out that it was wounded and it couldn’t go anywhere, but its mate is staying with it,” said Maier.
As the weeks passed Maier grew more concerned and decided to call Joy Huggins who runs a wildlife rehabilitation centre called Wildlife Haven out of her home in Waterloo. She doesn’t rescue animals but told Maier to call the township to see if they could do anything.
Following her suggestion Maier contacted Woolwich Township officials, but was told they were unsure if they could help as they have officially stopped caring for wildlife. Since it was in a township park and they don’t want a wild animal starving, however, they thought they should deal with it.
Maier was told that the township would be contacting a wildlife rescue organization and try to get the bird tended to.
“If someone could get it looked after that would be a great help.”
A few days later Maier received a call from the township’s bylaw officer informing him they’d engaged a contractor from Atwood to come and catch the injured bird, and if lucky, the healthy mate as well. They have also found a rehabilitation centre authorized by the Ministry of Natural Resources to send the bird to when it is captured.
It will cost $250 to secure the bird, with no guarantee of success. The township has committed to the first attempt on a day with good weather and to transport the birds should the capture be successful.
The township is not in the business of dealing with injured wildlife and this case is a big exception they are making.
Huggins said it was not ideal to leave the bird alone and told Maier that if it was fed by him that would not be enough especially if the goose has a broken wing. So far the birds have managed to survive in the park but winter is coming and that is a concern for Huggins, as they could die from starvation or the cold.
“That break may get quite painful – with the cold weather it can get arthritis. Anytime I have a bird or mammal with a broken bone I have overwintered them to help the break heal and so that there is less of a chance for arthritis to set in. The bird needs to be accessed. If the goose is non-releasable it is best to have it somewhere where it is protected from the elements and fed good nutritious food and watered daily,” said Huggins. “Depending on the assessment of the bird’s condition it may need to be euthanized as sometimes the condition of the bird is too grave. A good example is if the bird has a compound fracture. This is when the broken end of the bone has penetrated through the skin and the bone is exposed.”
