Goose pierced by arrow in Huntington Beach park is recovering physically, but its behavior has changed
The arrow injured more than just flesh. It also bruised its victim’s confidence – a wound that can take longer to heal.
At a Huntington Beach park a week ago, rescuers captured a goose with an arrow piercing its neck. The bird is recuperating at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center.
“The wound itself is healing beautifully, but the bird’s behavior is not 100 percent,” said Lisa Peronne, wildlife manager for the Huntington Beach center. “He is a little depressed.”
People reported sightings of the Canadian goose at Carr Park for more than a week before its capture, Peronne said. Even while bearing a 30-inch shaft, the bird took flight when approached by would-be rescuers – until it became too exhausted to escape.
“Those birds are strong, designed to fly for miles during migration,” Peronne said.
Fortunately, the arrow landed just underneath a layer of fat and did not penetrate muscle, Peronne said. Soon after it was brought into the center, the goose underwent surgery to remove the spear.
Hundreds of prescription pills – including antidepressants and sedatives – were inexplicably dumped at the same location in mid-December. Two birds that overdosed on the drugs also were treated at the care center. Those patients, a Canadian goose and a ring-billed gull, recovered and have been released back into the wild.
Although both incidents involved Carr Park, they probably are not related, said Huntington Beach Police Officer Angie Bennett.
“We don’t have any indication that somebody targeted the goose or that a crime was committed,” Bennett said of the arrow incident. “It was a plastic target arrow, not a hunting arrow. The goose might have been shot inadvertently at another location before flying to Carr Park.”
While that case is closed pending additional information, Bennett said, an investigation of the dumped medication continues.
On Friday, Jan. 4, Peronne and wildlife technician Cynthia Peterson returned the wounded bird to the operating table to flush and suture its lacerations. “We had to leave the holes open for a while so we could pack them with antibacterial ointment,” Peronne explained.
The center will not release the bird for another week or two, after its stitches have been removed. With luck, the goose will be feistier at that point.
“He’s super sweet and endearing, but that’s not really what we want to see,” Peronne said. “Domesticated animals get comfort from humans, but wildlife should not. We like the attitude: ‘I am going to kill you and your entire family.’ To survive out there, they have to be brutal.”
Still, the goose shows promise – drinking water, eating well and basking in fresh air and sunlight.
“We’ve seen significant behavioral improvement since we’ve been able to take him outside,” Peronne said.
Even if it remains a bit too docile, the goose will be set free sooner than later.
“That’s what we do: Rescue, rehabilitate and release,” Peronne said. “These animals are not happy in captivity. Sometimes, all they need is to get back out into the wild.”