Then, when the Earth begins to warm, when the water is no longer clean to drink, when there are no fish in the sea, when there is no evidence of beautiful corals, when it becomes difficult to breath, and when the grass is no longer green, what will those people outside of the biodome do? They will want admittance. It is likely that they will force entry as their lives are at risk. But no, they are not invited. Entering the biodome will cause a disequilibrium. They did not take action. They exploited, they consumed, and they depleted the Earth’s resources. Their lifestyle was unsustainable. It will be too late.”

You need to take action. We need to take action. Now.

If you like this one, take a look at some other interesting creatures at their website:
PopSci.com -- Nature’s Grossest Creatures

It is nesting season for the geese and apparently, they are very aggressive at this time. I saw a few geese families as I was jogging towards them. One family was particularly close to the walkway and as I was approaching, it hissed loudly opening its mouth. It performed a hostile maneuver, so I slowed down to walking pace. I was trying to avoid a confrontation, as I know these birds are only trying to protect their goslings. Even though I was walking, it suddenly began to hiss and sprint towards me. At that time, I had to make a decision; fight or flight. I could’ve shown the goose my physical superiority by performing a roundhouse kick to its head, but perhaps because that would be inhumane (it has a family to care for) or maybe because I was simply feeling weak, I fled. I’ve heard of stories about aggressive geese, but experiencing it is much more exciting.

I did some searching on their aggressive behaviour and it looks like it is common. During nesting season, it’s best to avoid the geese. They actually attack adults, children, and other animals! Even when jogging, it’s probably best to slow down ahead of time to avoid hostile confrontations. In addition, feeding the geese will make them more tolerable to urban environments in which they will be closer to humans, leading to more attacks. Their droppings also contain parasites and can cause health problems. Overall, geese are interesting birds, but they can sometimes be annoying.

An example of a goose attack:
YouTube – Doug Gets Attacked by Goose

Sources:
Canada Geese: Sounds of Spring
Chicago Sun-Times – Worker gets $17,000 check in goose attack Delivery man was hurt on
Ohio Department of Natural Resources – Division of Wildlife – Canada Goose Conflicts
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife – Living with Wildlife – Canada Geese

Canada Geese have a high tolerance for people and they observe humans all the time. Like pigeons, geese are protected from predators in urban surroundings. They are very well organized and are intelligent birds. Normally, when feeding on grass, there will be one or several geese watching for dangers and the role switches later. In addition, they fly in their signature v-shape when migrating for the winter. In the Spring, they mate and have goslings, which are little yellow things that run around. They are a cute bunch until they grow big and communicate with no manners. While the female incubate the eggs, the male will attack any intruders. Try it sometime at your own risk. Don’t hurt those poor things though.

In conclusion, these large and loud birds are cool to watch, but when you need to sleep, they aren’t too cool anymore.

Photo: Dick Lund
Sources: http://www.gpnc.org/canada.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose
http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=35

If you would like to have your own cheetah cub as a pet, you can’t because they require a lot of care and are endangered due to hunting, the loss of habitat, and other factors. However, you can still visit them at zoos and now is a good time because the weather is nice. If you would like to see them in the wild, they live in open savannas, but keep in mind that they hunt for mammals under 40 kilograms or 90 lbs during late mornings and early evenings with a 50% success rate. Why did I choose the cheetah and why is it so special? I chose the cheetah because it is endangered and it’s the fastest land animal! Ostriches run fast, but not even close to a cheetah’s speed.

What other animals would you like to see featured? Post a comment and let me know!

Photo: roclwyr
Sources: Cheetah – Wikipedia
The Cheetah Spot
Cheetah – Kids’ Planet
Toronto Zoo – Cheetah