Incoming … gaggles

Along with warm sunshine and a supermoon to celebrate our very welcome new season after an extreme-marathon winter, you may have noticed some other signs of spring … such as geese, back from their winter hiatus.

Gaggles of geese are returning to Manitoba over the next few weeks. As we greet our migrating wildlife, Physical Plant is preparing for the increased goose presence on the U of M campuses.

We also want to increase awareness about these unique campus community members, building on last year’s “Respect the Goose” Education and Awareness campaign. Watch our UM Today news site for stories and our social media feeds (#respectthegoose) for more facts and tips for how geese and humans can safely share our physical environment.

Goose on the loose

Many geese stay in and around Winnipeg because of their protected status in urban environments and the availability of water, food, nesting sites and safety from predators.

Take caution! While geese are interesting to watch, be sure to do so from afar. Geese can be aggressive when they feel threatened. However, with some consideration, geese and humans can share our campuses without incident.

A plan for managing the goose presence on campus has been created as part of the university’s Wildlife Management Plan, and U of M’s goose hotline and interactive goose nesting map (which has yet to be created with 2019 information) will allow campus community members to plan their routes on campus as to not disturb nesting geese.

Check back here for more on how we can best cohabitate with geese and what we are doing to prepare for nesting season.

You can report goose related items by e-mail to goose@umanitoba.ca or by phone via the goose hotline, 204-474-6281. All information is received by Physical Plant, and acted on in accordance with the Goose Education and Awareness Plan.