Does Duluth Have A Geese Overpopulation Situation?
Recently while we were on air I was mentioning the abundance of rabbits we had at our house (insert multiplying like rabbits here). Other than the fancy driving I have to do to avoid hitting them since they never seem to know which direction they want to go, I’m kinda glad they are around because that means we don’t have fox, owls or fishers in the neighborhood. That’s when a Facebook friend took to a rant about the geese and I had to agree with him.
My Facebook friend Brent said, "Don't mean to bother you, and I know this will sound funny and stupid, but I believe, more and more, that the geese here in Duluth and Superior are beginning to cause a risk to public health!!!" While it was a random statement, it got me thinking.
You see them on the grassy side areas of the road at the end of Park Point, on grassy corners of intersections in business' yards like Essentia in West Duluth and there are scads of them on the golf courses in the Northland where you need to be careful where you step next. Running on our trails is probablythe worst because you just want to get around them but they see you as a threat. When they see you coming you stare them down while contemplating what your options are. Then as you try to sneak past they make this God awful sound from deep in the bowels of their bellies. They open up their menacing beaks and their tongues raise up. It’s daunting! I’ve even been chased by one, wth?
I’m told there’s nothing you can do about it, especially when you’re in the city limits. We need a holiday where we serve Goose on a platter, oh sure I’ve heard of a Christmas goose, but it’s not served very often because they are pretty greasy. I’ve cooked a turgoosen before which is a deboned duck stuffed inside a deboned turkey, stuffed inside a goose cavity. That was a Christmas disaster. It took forever to cook because you have to cook it slow on low to cook through all three birds. We tried microwaving the slices that were sorta done because we were starving and it ended up tough and dry.
Is there anything we can do to fix the geese overpopulation situation? Who has an idea, it might just make you a million bucks if it works and can sell it to other communities. Shark Tank anyone?