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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A strange case of mistaken identity has created buzz around Yellowknife Bay recently.

A young goose has taken a shining to a plastic decoy, the larger of the two, in Yellowknife Bay. The goose returns to his plastic counterpart nightly and has been seen attempting to preen it, binging it food, and cuddling in with it while sleeping. - photo courtesy of Wade Carpenter

A somewhat confused Canada goose has been hanging around the bay with a resident goose and a few ducks in the area. The trouble is, this live goose does not seem to realize that all of his friends are, in fact, made of plastic.

The goose's attention is mostly fixed on a Canada goose decoy - usually used by hunters, although in this case it is used to mark an anchor line - in front of a houseboat known as the Peach Palace near Jolliffe Island.

The live Canada goose has been spotted offering food and attempting to preen the feathers of similar duck decoys near neighbouring houseboats.

"I think it's kind of cute," said Stuart Neary, who stays in the Peach Palace. "Though I wouldn't want him to stick around in the winter."

Neary said the goose has been around his boat for about a month and spends nearly every night cuddled up to his plastic mate. The goose generally leaves during the day for a few hours and then returns every night to its unrequited love.

Dana Sipos and Jean-Yves Drouin, who live a few boats away from the Peach Palace, have also been keeping tabs on the lonely goose.

"We've seen him courting the goose," Sipos said. "It's kind of sad, really."

The goose also attempts to interact with two decoy ducks next door to Sipos and Drouin, among other decoys in the neighbourhood.

"He was trying to groom the duck in front of the (houseboat known as the) Enterprise for about three hours yesterday," Drouin told Yellowknifer Monday.

The gender of the rogue goose is unconfirmed, but it is believed to be a male and is also believed to be an adolescent, said Neary.

Neary first noticed the goose at about 3:30 a.m. around late June. He said, at first, he did not realize that the goose was actually a live animal.

"This is the very first time I have seen this kind of thing," said Neary.

Anthony Foliot, who also lives on Yellowknife Bay, does remember one similar case when a black duck chummed around with a decoy near his boat.

As of press time, many questions remain regarding the goose's behavior, and what might happen when it comes time to fly south in the fall. When asked about why the live goose might be acting this way, Mark Johnson, a spokesperson with Environment Canada responded to Yellowknifer in a written statement that stated:

"The behaviour you describe is not considered normal behaviour and we can't offer a rational explanation of why the goose would be so attracted to the decoy."

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