Nibbler the goose lives a pretty casual life — and behaves a lot like any other goose. He spends time by his pool, honks just as loud as any other goose, he’d probably try to bite you like your stereotypical goose would too… if he could find you, that is.
It’s pretty easy to avoid bites from Nibbler though.
Primarily because he can’t see where you are to try to bite you. Even if he could see you, his beak isn’t particularly well-adapted to biting.
This is Nibbler! He’s a Sebastopol goose who lives with us at Dark Wings Wildlife, an animal education facility based in Florida!
Don’t worry! Most people’s first reaction to seeing Nibbler is to wonder what happened to him. Thankfully, he wasn’t injured or attacked.
Nibbler has a birth defect that seems to have impacted much of his upper jaw. He’s been that way since he hatched. But even from the time he was only a few hours old, he has thrived.
Despite his differences, he has always gotten around just fine!
One thing that has always astounded me was that he has always instinctively known how to eat and drink. He has never needed any teaching or coaxing in any way, and he doesn’t require any special accommodations, outside of a slightly deeper food dish.
He eats and drinks by using a scooping motion with his beak, and he’s always done this since the day he hatched!
It’s also heartwarming to see how well he gets along with other animals. He spends his days lounging by his pool, under the watchful eye of Bellebottom the senior chicken. You’ll often find Belle enjoying a lovely dust bath while Nibbler grooms himself perched on the edge of his pool.
But it’s not just other poultry that Nibs gets along with. He’s more than happy to lend a helping hand and babysit while some of our younger animals stretch their legs in his yard!
He has gotten on swimmingly with Pumpkin the capybara, our latest animal ambassador.
Nibbler inspires me on a daily basis, primarily because of his ability to so purely and thoroughly appreciate the small joys in life. On a rainy day he could make his way inside his stall, but instead chooses to preen to his heart’s content in the unexpected bathing opportunity.
If we could all approach life’s minor challenges a little more like Nibbler and appreciate the little things that make life grand, the world would be a better place!
The featured image for this article was provided by Dark Wings Wildlife.
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