FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

The VICE Guide to Right Now

Have You Seen This Possibly Undead Goose with an Arrow in Its Neck?

The bird has managed to evade local animal groups for weeks, despite its injury.
Drew Schwartz
Brooklyn, US
Screengrab via WIVB

A brave, resilient goose has been seen ambling around upstate New York with an arrow shot through its neck for weeks—and local animal groups still can't manage to catch it, Buffalo's WIVB reports.

Authorities in Amherst, New York—a small town near Buffalo—don't know how the Canadian goose wound up sustaining the injury. However it happened, the animal is miraculously taking the wound well—flying, pecking at grass, and flapping her wings just like her arrow-free compatriots, according to a few eye witness reports.

Advertisement

The Department of Environmental Conservation and Erie County's SPCA are tag-teaming an effort to save the female goose, but since she's maintained her expert ability to flap away from people—even with the piercing injury—they can't manage to get their hands on her. The agencies have asked locals in the small town to give them a call if they see the bird in a fragile state.

"If somebody sees the goose maybe nesting, that would be an ideal time," the SPCA's chief communications officer, Gina Browning, told a local ABC affiliate. "Maybe we can get out there, the goose won't leave the nest, won't leave its eggs, and hopefully we can work to get that arrow out."

Oddly enough, geese seem to sustain and survive these kinds of injuries often. Back in 2010, rangers spotted a goose with a neck-piercing arrow hanging out in Prospect Park near the skating rink, according to the New York Times. And two years ago, a goose spent a week waddling around Orange County with an arrow in its neck before it was taken to an animal hospital for surgery and ultimately died from complications.

One can only hope our Amherst avian heroine avoids the same fate.

Follow Drew Schwartz on Twitter.