Geese aren’t what you might call the friendliest critters. They won’t think twice about attacking people, especially when it’s to protect their goslings.
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One day, Scott Hann learned that they also don’t care about making it convenient to avoid them in such a state. He was on his way to grab some groceries at a Walmart in Mays Landing, New Jersey, when he saw a Canadian goose loitering in the parking lot.
The angry bird was blocking traffic and hissing at anyone who came too close. Worse, it refused to move.
“At first, I wondered if it was sick or injured because of its nonchalance to danger,” Scott wrote later.
The busy shopper brushed it off, but when he came back out of the store, the bird was still there. That’s when he noticed something else, and immediately, everything made sense!
“On an island, surrounded by a flimsy orange-tape fence, was another goose comfortably seated on a nest of hay,” Scott said.
He realized this one was a female who had just laid eggs. She was incubating them while her mate stood by, ready to protect her from anyone who got too close.
Scott thought about calling animal control, but ultimately decided against it and left. When he came back a few days later, both geese were still there.
But it was another sight that warmed his heart! Employees had put up a barrier to keep the feathered family safe.
“The kindhearted employees placed traffic cones on either side of the thoroughfare to allow the guardian to protect his family in safety, diverting traffic through the parking spaces,” Scott explained.
He added that the “people of Walmart” have his “sincerest thanks.”
As Immanuel Kant put it, “We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” That’s true even if said animals are feeling extra protective, so we know everything we need to about the compassionate employees who took the time to help this gander and his family.
Share this story with all the animal lovers in your life.
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