NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Wildlife rescuers and community members are searching for answers after a group of children was reportedly seen dropping bricks on a mother goose and her eggs on Saturday at Armstrong Park.
The mother goose was seen limping shortly after the attack. Four of her eggs were smashed and killed just two weeks before they were set to hatch while the remaining one was abandoned by the mother. Local bird rescuer Kasia Perkowska says it was most likely because she was too scared to return to the nest and likely knew the egg had been injured in some way and wouldn’t survive.
“I watched her,” Perkowska said. “I came out yesterday and kept an eye on them, hoping they would go back to that egg. But, when I got here yesterday morning, the egg was cold to the touch, so it wasn’t viable anymore.”
Perkowska says license restrictions kept her from incubating the egg herself.
Days following the incident, the mother and her partner have been spotted returning to the nest, seemingly searching for what’s lost.
“These people, the locals here, they, told me about a mama goose, and, and the daddy goose right there with four babies. And they were looking forward to this couple and their five babies. Now, they’re not going to hatch, and their nest is completely destroyed and abandoned,” Perkowska said.
Canadian geese are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. This law makes it illegal to harm, capture or kill Canadian geese without proper U.S Fish and Wildlife Service permits.
WGNO reached out to the New Orleans Police Department, the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Louisiana SPCA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Right now, it’s unclear if anyone will face criminal charges or if an investigation will be launched.
“This is not the first time and it’s not going to be the last. I mean, it’s babies. Attacking babies is the worst kind of evil that you can possibly think of,” Perkowska said.
