Deer protects nesting Goose

[Kris G.]

http://www.wgrz.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=892487473001#/Deer+protecting+a+mother+goose/892487473001



BUFFALO, NY - It's a scene right out of a Disney movie, mother goose has lost her lifelong mate and is now left alone to create and tend to her nest.  She spends the day sheltering her eggs from the cold spring air inside an empty cemetery urn she has chosen as home.

The loss of her male partner and guardian now makes her vulnerable to any would-be predators that choose to approach the nest.  But, in an unlikely twist of fate, an adult deer has befriended the mother goose, taking over the role of protector.

This animal arrangement is highly unusual, since there's no known way that a deer and goose can communicate. Yet somehow the deer has come to understand the need of the nesting mother.

The deer now spends its days near the urn acting as guardian when needed.  As passersby approach the area the deer stands and places itself between the person and the nesting goose.  On one occasion the deer even took a protective stance attempting to fend off a barking dog near the area of the urn.

How this nature story ends is anyone's guess, there's no telling if the deer and goose will part ways after the goslings hatch or whether this special friendship will continue beyond the nest.

[MAK]

   Nature rocks! 

[birdmusic]

They don't call Buffalo the "city of good neighbors" for nothing!  Even the animals help each other out!

[Kris G.]

They have now set up a camera where the goose and deer are at Forest Lawn Cemetery. Video is on right side of page.

http://www.forest-lawn.com

[Donna]

They have now set up a camera where the goose and deer are at Forest Lawn Cemetery. Video is on right side of page.

http://www.forest-lawn.com

Is that the goose in the pot? OMG so cute!

[Kris G.]

Photo Gallery! Goslings Of Canada Goose Hatch In Cemetery Urn By WKBW News

 April 27, 2011
 
Updated Apr 27, 2011 at 5:37 PM EDT
 
Buffalo, NY ( release) – For nearly a month, the world has watched, via live webcam, as a Canada goose sat on her nest in an urn deep inside Forest Lawn – a historic, 269-acre cemetery in the heart of the city of Buffalo - patiently awaiting the arrival of her brood. The story attracted international attention when it was discovered her gander – the male goose that typically guards the nest during incubation – had “flown the coop.� Forest Lawn’s resident buck, a white-tailed deer that has lived in the cemetery for several years, gallantly took over the role of protector, spending hours each day hovering over the urn and watching out for mama and her eggs.

Forest Lawn is pleased to announce that sometime in the early morning hours of Wednesday, April 27, 2011, seven eggs were hatched successfully! Around 4:00 p.m. EST, mama goose jumped off the urn and coaxed her goslings to the ground, where they fed on the grass near the urn before beginning their walk to the cemetery’s Mirror Lake.

[MAK]

 

[Donna]

What a great story and a happy ending.

[Annette]