Okay, so I was gonna talk about this in the tags, but no I’m gonna actually comment properly. The thing about the guys at the beginning is that between their attention being focused on the goose and that cautious, jumpy behavior, they are basically telling the goose with their body language that they’re a threat. Kinda like how dogs use stance to instigate play, the guys’ stances very much indicate an attack of some sort (to a wild animal).
So what lady does in just walking confidently forward without worrying about the goose at all, is broadcast herself not as a threat, and honestly the only reason the goose really postures at her at all is probably bc it was already riled up by the other ppl.
And here’s the real zinger. I know a lot of people are always talking about how violent and aggressive geese are, and it’s not exactly true. Part of it is just that they’re large enough that when they posture, humans actually perceive it as a threat (in my experience, songbirds and hummingbirds can be some of the most agrro, they’re just not dangerous at all). The other part of it is that geese typically get treated like shit by people. I see kids chasing geese all the time at parks and adults are constantly shooing them away. So, in a lot of ways we’ve taught them to see us as threats.
So basically, geese can absolutely be dangerous! But not any more so than a deer is. And when people see a deer, their responses are usually respectful but calm - maybe getting a little closer for a picture but that’s it. And that respect for deer keeps the relationship between our species safer bc it’s not typically antagonistic or aggressive.
Anyways, the point of this whole rant was mostly just to say this. Treat a goose as if it’s just another animal that needs a bit of space, and you’ll probably not have any issues with them.
