Vox Almanac S2 • E33: The goose that conquered America

"The Canada goose is a nuisance. But you might not realize how it got that way.
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In this episode of Vox Almanac, Vox’s Phil Edwards explores the poop-filled history of the Canada goose — and the way people transformed it from migratory wonder to public nuisance.

If you’ve played on a soccer field or strolled past a golf course in the United States, you’ve doubtless seen gaggles of Canada geese terrorizing the public space. These geese were actually put here by state agencies in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s as part of public programs to create Canada goose populations after nearly hunting the bird to extinction. Because these birds are all protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, it proves surprisingly difficult to get the geese to leave.

There are some methods of geese removal, like egg oiling, or addling, that stop new geese from hatching. It’s a lot of effort, but it works. Still, these Canada geese illustrate some of the unintended consequences that happened when people tried to foster flocks in the last half-century..."

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