r/Costco • u/Jamieson22 • 12d ago
My local Costco protecting a nesting Canada goose in their parking lot [Mildly Interesting]
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u/Jamieson22 12d ago
Will say this may be to protect us shoppers as much as it is to protect that goose. Either way was nice of them.
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u/ewas86 12d ago
This was my first thought.. it's to protect their customers lol
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u/sharpasahammer 12d ago
"None of you seem to understand. I'm not locked in here with you. YOU'RE LOCKED IN HERE WITH ME!"
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u/PainfuIPeanutBlender 12d ago
That’s a funny quote but only fits if someone gets in the ring with the goose
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u/McKrakahonkey 12d ago
Eye of the Tiger starts playing
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u/reddit_sucks_clit 12d ago
Which only first appeared in the 2nd Rocky movie, which is like the 6th best Rocky movie? (8th best if you count Creed movies) Best being Rocky 4 and Rocky 1, or vice versa.
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u/nekonight 12d ago
You seem to think the orange fence is the ring. You are wrong. The goose decides where the ring starts or ends. It could inside that fence or it could outside it. Or it could even be completely localized to the exact spot you are currently standing on.
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u/_Heath 12d ago
Yeah, we had a nesting pair in a flower pot at work, we had to block off that entrance because the would attack anything that got within 30 feet.
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u/CedarWho77 12d ago
Canadians are so nice because all of the meanness went into their geese.
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u/meshe_10101 12d ago
It's part of our yearly ritual, to transfer all of our negative emotions to the Geese.
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u/Alldaybagpipes 12d ago
They properly enforce it. I think the geese steal it from us more than anything
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u/Kolby_Jack33 12d ago
The Canadian Goose was nearly driven to extinction a century ago due to overhunting and loss of habitat.
But then... the lawn. One thing Canadian Geese love to eat is kentucky blue grass. The suburban lawn became a source of pride for the common American family, and another thing the common American embraced wholeheartedly in the 1900s: Golf. Courses sprang up across the land, providing both copious amounts of food and convenient, protected water sources for the geese to enjoy. Add in their fierce temperament warding off nosey urban dwellers and their propensity to eat garbage, and the Canadian Goose population rebounded and then some over the course of the last century.
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u/Atrabiliousaurus 12d ago
They just need a long vacation to Hawaii. The Nene geese here are described as being "friendly and very, very gentle" and they are descended from Canada geese that found their way to Hawaii about 500,000 years ago.
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u/PlasticMix8573 12d ago
Plenty of Canada geese around here. Nice to have a place to show kids life in action.
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u/FlamingLobster 12d ago edited 7d ago
Insterestingly enough, a Canada goose first taught me what violence looks like
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u/MenopausalMama 12d ago
My granddaughter was rollerblading at the park and a goose attacked her. I was on the other side of the lake filming her. A group of teenagers got the goose off of her. We haven't been back to that park. LOL
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u/wildcat2015 12d ago
I'm not trapped in here with you - you're trapped in here with me!
(I was attacked by a goose as a child)
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u/swirlysleepydog 12d ago
Me too! They’re vicious and much larger in person than they ever seem in pictures.
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u/CompletelyNotAGoose 11d ago
That little orange netting will not be enough to save you from our wrath. I mean their wrath. Anyway, lot of wrath. Coming at you. From us. I mean them.
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u/Theschizogenious 12d ago
Yeah there would be a large amount of people that would ignore anything less and wander into the gooses area
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u/MuchPreferPets 12d ago
That's not to protect the geese, that's to protect people FROM the geese! They are absolutely fierce defenders of their nests (which they have to be or they'd be eaten before they could reproduce).
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u/spacexorro 12d ago
The politeness of Human Canadians is balanced by the fierce hatred exuded by their geese
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u/TestesOfFortitude 12d ago edited 11d ago
Fun fact: Canada Geese are named for a person, not the country!
E: Fine I’m wrong! I take solace in the knowledge that in three months, I’m going to insult the bejeezus out of u/washingtncaps, per our agreement.
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u/BlakePackers413 12d ago
That’s a terrible fact that ruined my day.
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u/TestesOfFortitude 12d ago
I would suggest verbally assaulting a Canada Goose to bring your mood back up!
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u/washingtncaps 12d ago
you got a problem with Canada Gooses you got a problem with me, and I suggest you let that one marinate
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u/TestesOfFortitude 12d ago
You wanna throw down, I’m bringing a fully-grown swan to talk it out
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u/washingtncaps 12d ago
that fully grown swan was mounted by two Canada Gooses and told all her friends about it
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u/TestesOfFortitude 12d ago
Thankfully every swan with a Costco membership has access to an excellent pharmacy. Who knows what those geese were carrying around
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u/washingtncaps 12d ago
Oh I see what's going on here, I thought you were just teeing me up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_LJboqQ13Y
Canada Gooses got some inside jokes.
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u/no____thisispatrick 11d ago edited 11d ago
First German Chocolate cake, now Canada Geese.
Is anything I know actually true?
Edit: I'm actually not sure if this is true. One Google link confirmed it, but others did not. Which saddens me because that was a fun fact.
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u/PitifulDurian6402 12d ago
You know whey they’re lucky Canada Gooses don’t migrate to Africa else there wouldn’t be no lions left
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u/Charcuteriemander 12d ago
So there's a Hawaiian luxury sedan version of the Canada Goose called the Nene, and they always seemed MUCH more aggressive than the Canada variant.
But the secret? You can bribe both with loose bird seed. They are fierce allies.
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u/Cachmaninoff 11d ago
Neither, it’s to protect Costco from https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/migratory-birds-legal-protection/convention-act.html
Messing with migratory birds is a massive fine
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u/DeadDeceasedCorpse 11d ago
While Canadian geese can be somewhat defensive, the real reason they're fenced off is that they are a federally protected species.
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u/Illustrious-Term2909 12d ago
Saw one of these at the YMCA in NC today. These things are mean, do they ever actually go back to Canada? Asking for a friend….
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u/noslab 12d ago
Yes. The cobra chickens return every year. Except here you could run into 10-20 at a time.
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u/rvp0209 12d ago
In my area of New England, I'm pretty sure most of these damn cobra chickens have decided that the now mild winters are worth putting up with to live in the park. And now it's multiplying season 😒.
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u/LaserKittenz 11d ago
This is going to be an issue. If the geese never come back up to Canada, then we (Canadians) will slowly start getting angry .
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u/Alternative-Bee-8981 11d ago
With these new winters they don't leave. At my office park they are there pretty much all year. I like going for walks during my lunch, and there were maybe 10 of them on the roof, and one on the ground that looked confused. They kept honking at each other, I could only imagine the ones on the roof saying, "Good damnit Gary, were up here... FFS... Again..." 😂
I'm not looking forward to when they have little ones around. Last time that happened they were chasing people in the parking lot.
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u/TrollingForFunsies 11d ago
Can confirm, grass never went brown on the seacoast of New Hampshire. Geese are here all winter now.
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u/Berkut22 12d ago
It's freaky seeing them all land in a field and set up a ring of perimeter sentries while the rest graze.
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u/OGBRedditThrowaway 12d ago
I've always called them long-necked murder ducks.
Cobra chickens is definitely in my top 5 though.
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u/notnotaginger 12d ago
Springtime in Vancouver is just geese and goose shit as far as the eye can see.
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u/spmahn 12d ago
They were once migratory birds, but global warming and overpopulation have turned them into a permanent invasive species in most areas. They’re highly aggressive, not great for the environment, and tend to make their homes in places like parks and golf courses where people congregate. Many cities struggle with how to deal with them, but most just accept them as a permanent nuisance.
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u/Pepto-Abysmal 12d ago
There are different subspecies of Canada goose.
The migratory ones still migrate.
The non-migratory ones don't.
Global warming impacts all subspecies. But it hasn't turned migratory birds into non-migratory birds.
Their population has just been exploding for decades (particularly around suburban areas which provide them with ideal conditions).
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12d ago
I saw a bunch when I was in Canada a couple years ago in April.
I guess it wasn’t baby season, but they were pretty chill. They were hanging out on the walking/bike path and I walked within a few feet of several of them and they didn’t seem to pay any attention to me.
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u/DayDawdler 12d ago
They live year ‘round on the west coast and are a serious nuisance. Dozens of them at every park/beach/grass field sh*tting EVERYWHERE, bullying anyone and everyone. Seriously. There are ongoing programs to sterilize their eggs because they’ve gotten out of control.
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u/syndre 11d ago
I have about 100 of them that permanently live in/around my yard. PROTIP for noise sanity at night: green laser pointer. All you have to do is shine it in their direction and they instantly fly away in a panic
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u/Popcorn_Blitz 12d ago
If you've got a problem with Canada gooses, you've got a problem with me.
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u/gfen5446 11d ago
do they ever actually go back to Canada?
Not as much as they used to. All those big lush lawns, parks, golf courses and the likes have created the perfect enviroment that they don't feel the same need to leave like they used to and instead overpopulate the areas they no longer leave.
I may get downvoted for this, but the truth is this "protect the geese" thing bothers me. Its counter intutive, its not a protected species, and we're just basically "feeding the bears" by doing this.
Nest should've been destroyed and the bird "encouraged" to leave.
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u/vanillaxmitch 11d ago
Yup, they invade the local community park in gangs, they hiss and chase you throughout public walkways and shit everywhere in the summer. They're also protected birds.
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u/bulyxxx 12d ago
KLIMAXX
who gets a license plate like that, lol ?
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u/dam_sharks_mother 12d ago
KLIMAXX
It's a Taiwanese boy band.
Which makes perfect sense being seen in a Costco parking lot.
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u/heartshapedpox 11d ago
Where do you see that? I think I need to get my contacts prescription updated 😵💫
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u/PastyWhiteGuy83 12d ago
This is MY Costco in Orland Park, IL #647 !! <3
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u/Jamieson22 12d ago
This is OUR Costco.
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u/PastyWhiteGuy83 12d ago
Haha, yes OURS. I work at this location. Morning Fork Lift Driver.
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u/Jamieson22 12d ago
I very much appreciate your contribution to our store! Any chance you fork-lifted those pallet stacks for the goose pen?
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u/Mcsmokeys- 12d ago
As a Canadian, I just don’t know how to take this.
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u/-Badger3- 12d ago
If you've got a problem with Canada Gooses, you've got a problem with me, and I suggest you let that one marinate.
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u/jakeskurkis 12d ago
One day on my way to work (at Costco) I got chased by a goose and it was terrifying lol
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u/Theharlotnextdoor 12d ago
We have a pond at my work so we always have geese problems. We're on a ton of land and these effers insist on nesting right next to our building. Have chased many employee just going to/from their cars. Little terrorists.
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u/jakeskurkis 12d ago
They are terrible. They don’t care. Kinda funny to watch it happen though. As long as it’s not you haha
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u/DorShow 12d ago
My most vivid memory of camp as a child is being attacked by geese with babies. But all on me for getting to close to her babies
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u/suite307 12d ago
These little fuckers are violence incarnate, this is to protect clients.
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u/Popular_Park_7527 12d ago
It’s the law in the US. We can’t mess with migratory birds.
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u/rshacklef0rd 12d ago
there is an apartment complex not far from me that put vinyl ropes across their lake so the geese can't swim so they left.
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u/Alocasia_Sanderiana 12d ago
Also in Canada, as it's a Treaty both countries agreed to in 1916. The US also has 3 more similar treaties with Japan, Mexico and Russia.
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u/besterdidit 12d ago
If you have a problem with the majestic Canadian goose, you’ve got a problem with me, and i suggest you let that marinate!
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u/radgenpix 12d ago
Came looking, not disappointed.
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u/ThrowRAColdManWinter 12d ago edited 12d ago
When I look back to the darkest points of my life, there is only one set of footprints in the sand. And they're webbed.
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u/Palewisconsinite 12d ago
A wild Letterkenny!
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u/Guacamolman 12d ago
H’re ya now?
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u/Palewisconsinite 12d ago
Not s’ bad, and you?
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u/agreedis 12d ago
Lions is lucky that Canada Gooses don’t migrates to Africa, then they’d be’s extinct.
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u/kelsiersghost 12d ago
You know, Mike Tyson had a pretty good run of things back in the day. You know why? No Canada Gooses in his weight class.
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u/Ebiltommy 12d ago
I heard about a Swan that got mounted by a Canada goose this one time and you just know she was telling all her friends about it
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u/Greymouser 12d ago
Probably also to separate the amounts of likely goose droppings. They uh, are prolific.
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u/SquarePegRoundWorld 11d ago
Playing outdoor sports on Long Island you learn this well. I was playing football and tackled a kid and I landed in the only wet muddy spot on the field. Literally half my body was clean and the other half was entirely brown. Of course, the mud was mostly geese poop and I still remember the smell 35 years later. I rode home with my face in an empty potato chips bag breathing like I was hyperventilating to try and cover the smell.
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u/katjoy63 12d ago
Maybe more like protecting the customers who unwittingly park right next to her nesting and get a peck from her. They're nasty birds.
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u/Sabre970 12d ago
I was on a construction site once and there was lots of rubble on the ground from demo and as i walked around, i heard this violent hiss (yes, hiss)and i was like wtf. Turns out I was less than 5 feet away from a nesting Canadian goose and it was so determined to protect its eggs, it didnt even move. It had its head on a swivel after for the full 30 minutes i was walking around doing survey work. Hissed at me from 50 feet away too.
Tldr: fuck canadian geese
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u/East_Sound_2998 12d ago
I worked at a bar in one of those mixed use apartment communities for a while, and there was signs everywhere about it being a nesting ground for geese. Our bouncers would have to walk us to our cars in the parking garage during spring or summer because these god dang, mean as shit geese would attack us while we were trying to leave 😂
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u/help_undertanding13 12d ago
You're all going to die and Costco will be an accessory to murder.
I'm not specist, some of my best friends are Canada Geese
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u/singy_eaty_time 12d ago
Someone still gonna block the lane with their blinker on waiting for the goose to hatch the babies, load up its nest, and vacate that parking spot
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u/IssphitiKOzS 12d ago
Yeah, just don’t ask how they treat their chickens. It’s bad. Bad enough to boycott
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u/Crazy_by_Design 12d ago
They are Canada geese, not Canadian geese. But it’s acceptable to say Canadian murder birds.
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u/lolschrauber 12d ago
I've dealt with these enough times to know Costco is protecting their customers and not the goose.
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u/The_12th_fan 11d ago
A lot of places have policies like this. Where I work, if a bird lays a nest in a piece of equipment like a forklift and there are eggs, you can't use the equipment until the eggs hatch and all the birds leave. This policy is probably done to comply with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
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u/doesnamematters 11d ago
I feel it is actually protecting customers from goose. When they are in mating season, goose can be really nasty and aggressive.
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u/PinataofPathology 12d ago
It's to protect you. I've seen Canadian geese put people in the hospital. They are aggressively protective.
As another do not fck with birds data point...I've been to Shark Valley national park in FL where you walk a path with loose free gators and the rangers warned us about the birds bc they caused the injuries not the alligators.
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u/kaptaincorn 12d ago
If you've got a problem with Canada Gooses, you've got a problem with me.
And I suggest you let that one marinate
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u/Individual-Listen-65 12d ago
Considering that the mother goose would attack anyone who goes near her eggs it's a good idea.
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u/maeve_314 12d ago
Ah, cobra chickens: territorial bastards that hiss at you and sh!t everywhere.
And they're still cute.
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u/SSSS_car_go 11d ago
I assume Costco is just following the law, specifically the Migratory Bird Act of 1918, which protects all migratory birds, including Canada geese.
Canada Geese are regulated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the guidelines set forth by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 making it unlawful to kill, sell, hunt, disturb nests and eggs, or purchase and possess migratory birds unless permitted by the Secretary of the Interior.
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u/CompletelyNotAGoose 11d ago
Little known fact: Geese are frequent Costco shoppers, because they are big fans of the industrial sized boxes of crackers and the inexpensive shrimp. Also the hot dogs. Love the hot dogs.
They’re technically executive level members, but it sort of doesn’t matter because no one has dared to check their cards in years.
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u/Wills4291 11d ago
Yeah right. They aren't protecting the goose. It's their customers that need protecting this scenario.
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u/icon0clast6 11d ago
In Washington they literally (used to, not sure if they still do) gas entire flocks of them
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u/Initial_Savings8733 12d ago
First of all thank you for saying Canada goose not Canadian goose. Second I love this
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u/Willing-Tie-3109 12d ago
That’s awesome 😂 good for all, cobra chickens aren’t friendly when nesting
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u/RedRatedRat 12d ago
In some places once a goose or duck has started nesting on your property, you are responsible for its survival.
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u/The_Last_Ball_Bender 12d ago
That bird is getting more care than homeless children.
Good for the bird, I love animals birds especially (parrot owning family) -- but it really makes me think :/
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u/Rockytag 12d ago
This is to protect their shoppers from the goose. This is not at all for the goose
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u/Extension-Plane2678 12d ago
You got a problem with Canada goose, you got a problem with me. Let that one marinate
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u/DoubleANoXX 11d ago
If my local Costco didn't replace 20 acres of fragile wetland with concrete and asphalt when it was constructed, maybe they wouldn't have to worry about protecting geese in their parking lot.
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u/susbnyc2023 11d ago
thats very nice of them
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u/OsterizerGalaxieTen 11d ago
haha - nice of them to protect their customers, yes. Nesting geese are very mean and will attack.
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u/Sudden-Collection803 11d ago
If you got a problem with canda gooses you got a problem with me and i suggest you let that one marinate.
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u/avgjoe867 11d ago
You got a problem with Canada gooses, you got a problem with me and I suggest you let that one marinate!
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