Death By Goose? It Almost Happened to This Tourist
Lu Chen mid-goose attack. (Photo: Central European News)
Death by goose attack is definitely not the way you want to go. But it almost happened to tourist Lu Chen this week when he waded too close to a geese nest while cooling off in a river in Gaowen Village in the Guizhou province in China.
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“I am sure they were trying to drown me!” said Lu of the two angry geese who charged him. “They were pecking my legs, my hands, anything they could get their bills on,” he said. “…[I]t hurt.” No doubt.
It all started when Lu decided to get his feet wet near the birds’ nest – it was apparently too close for comfort for the fowls. “I didn’t know what was happening at first. There was a tremendous hissing and then [the geese] came straight at me,” he said.
Ouch! But somehow he managed to keep his cell phone out of the water. (Photo: Central European News)
“I tried to scare them off, but they just kept coming. They managed to knock me down in the river. I just couldn’t get them away.
“They’re big, powerful birds,” he continued. “I really began to panic.”
Despite Lu’s distress and pain, the locals, who helped him escape the geese, found the whole thing endlessly amusing. “Anyone who lives here knows [the geese are territorial] and we never let our children play there. We should put up a sign to warn off tourists, but it’s quite fun to watch,” said one resident.
It’s clear where Lu went wrong: One should never try to shoo pissed off geese. When they start hissing, slowly back away. Then consider running.
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Geese or a street gang? Don’t aggravate these guys! (Photo: Thinkstock)
It’s not the first report of fowl play. In June, a Canadian woman was left bloody, bruised and concussed after a goose fight. During a bike ride, Kerry Surman stopped to let a family of geese cross her path. She thought they were all clear, but when she resumed riding, she was ambushed. According to Surman, the goose gave her “the evil eye,” then wrapped its wings around her head. Besides her own screams, that’s the last thing she remembers. Surman spent five days in the hospital.
Hewlett Packard also had geese troubles at their Boise, Idaho office. After a visitor had a run in with an ornery bird, the company sent out a memo entitled: “Boise Site Communication: Avoiding Geese Attacks.”
Swans are scary too. Several years ago, designer Donna Karan’s daughter, Gabby, lost her Jack Russell terrier, Petey, to a swan attack in Manhattan’s central park. The pup had jumped in the lake for swim when the bird pecked him to death.
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