The Wild Goose Chase

  A few weeks back, my cousin asked if we could help her catch a goose that had fishing line tangled around its feet.  The line was cutting into its legs and making it difficult to move around.  She feeds the wild geese and noticed that one was hurt.  I assured her that Son and I would be right over if she needed us.  She was grateful and promised to call if the bird returned. I have not heard back from her so I was assuming the goose either freed itself or died.  This past weekend, however, when I heard the geese fly over the Bayou toward her house, one was low enough for me to get a good view.  Yep, the bird was still tangled.  The poor thing was trailing about thirty feet of tangled line behind it when it flew.  It made me sad to see the bird struggle along behind the other geese. Still, no call from my cousin. Obviously, the geese are stopping somewhere between here and there. 

  All day as I cleaned the greenhouse, I thought about that strung-up goose.  I have no idea how in the world we would go about catching a wild goose but, given the circumstances, we must at least give it a try.  This evening when I heard their calls as they returned from feasting at Michelle's house, I hurried out to see if I could catch another glimpse of the poor bird.  If this was the same flock, the tangled bird was not with them.  

  While we all appreciate the stronger lines for our fishing reels, this stuff is no friend to wildlife.  Whether the bird accidentally entangled in someone's line while they were fishing or if it became ensnared in discarded line makes no difference.  Gone are the days when the line would rot in about a week.  Gone are the days when fishermen were responsible folks who cared about wildlife. Unless the bird is helped, there is no way it can live much longer.  My cousin had called the wildlife rescue folks, but her plea was met with the same response that I received about the injured heron.  It seems that the local group is more concerned with donations than helping the critters.  This poor bird will meet a sad fate, I am afraid.  Hopefully, I will get a call from Michelle saying that the goose is there and hopefully our wild goose chase will result in a happy ending for the bird.