Sickly 15-year-old Canada goose gets health care before southern flight
'This little lady has defied hunters everywhere:' comment on refuge's Facebook page
A sickly, middle-aged Canada goose that was taken to the Guelph Humane Society is expected to make a full recovery in time to fly south for the winter.
Staff at the humane society said the female goose was "not feeling too great" when they took it down to the Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge in Jarvis, south of Brantford.
Chantal Theijn at the refuge said the goose is underweight and "laden with internal parasites" but with some care, will recover.
"(We) hope that she will make a full recovery and will be able to migrate," she told CBC News.
Goose banded in 2002
When the goose arrived at the refugee, staff noticed it was banded. They sent information from the bird's band into the federal department of Environment and Climate Change bird banding office and discovered the goose was banded as a gosling on June 18, 2002 in Guelph.
The goose was "too young to fly" when it was banded, information from the national office said.
People on the refuge's Facebook commented on the age of the goose.
"This little lady has defied hunters everywhere," one person wrote.
"Hello there, Canadian Canada goose lady. I hope you get to feeling better. I had no idea y'all lived that long. Damn," another person wrote.
Canada geese can have a lifespan of between 20 and 25 years in the wild.