On Sunday I walked around Sikes Lake, afterwards blogging Breezy Balmy Sikes Lake Father's Day Walk With Ducks in which I made mention of the fact that I'd never seen so few geese at this location. As in I only saw four geese that day.
This morning, via the Wichita Falls Times Record News I learned why I saw so few geese on Sunday.
A mass execution extermination euthanizing of the Sikes Lake goose population.
Here are four explanatory paragraphs from the article in the Times Record News...
MSU Texas confirmed Tuesday that the majority of Canada geese have been removed from Sikes Lake in an effort to better maintain the lake and curb overpopulation concerns. MSU contracted with the United States Department of Agriculture - Texas Wildlife Services to complete the removal. Relocation was not a viable option because Canadian geese typically return to their previous home after being relocated. Because of this, TWS euthanized the geese.
In a statement, MSU marketing and public information director Julie Gaynor said the university explored options and settled on working with the USDA.
“Over the past year, Midwestern State University has been exploring how best to manage the overpopulation of Canada Geese in and around Sikes Lake. The overpopulation of geese has created extensive damage across the campus.
One of the largest concerns Gaynor said the removal addressed was worries about overpopulation and the diseases that can spread among wildlife populations when that happens. Gaynor said there are about 50 Sikes Lake geese remaining.
About 50 geese remain? All but four must have gone into hiding due to witnessing the capture of most of their relatives.
The geese created extensive damage across the campus? Like what? The only visible damage, if you can call it that, was way too much goose poop on the paved trail around the lake.
It would have been interesting to eye witness the capture of all those geese. How was this accomplished one cannot help but wonder? The geese waddled quickly when a human got too close. Or took flight. The goose flock spent a lot of their time floating on the lake. How were those floating geese arrested?
I likely will never know the answer to these probing questions...
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About 50 geese remain? All but four must have gone into hiding due to witnessing the capture of most of their relatives.
The geese created extensive damage across the campus? Like what? The only visible damage, if you can call it that, was way too much goose poop on the paved trail around the lake.
It would have been interesting to eye witness the capture of all those geese. How was this accomplished one cannot help but wonder? The geese waddled quickly when a human got too close. Or took flight. The goose flock spent a lot of their time floating on the lake. How were those floating geese arrested?
I likely will never know the answer to these probing questions...
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