08/27/2026
⚠️Warning: Graphic Photo - Goose With Arrow⚠️
An update on the injured Canada goose in Delaware County.
We know many of you have seen this goose and have been reaching out with questions, concerns, and offers to help. We want you to know that we share your concern for him.
💜The rescue effort
Our team has been out multiple times, working alongside the amazing Delaware County Wildlife Officer Maurice Irish, to try to safely capture this goose. Members of the public have also made attempts to help.
Unfortunately, the goose is still able to fly and swim, which makes safe capture incredibly difficult. With each attempt, the goose has also become increasingly wary of people, making an already challenging rescue even harder.
💔The goose is suffering.
We also want to acknowledge the reality of this injury. This is not a superficial wound. The wound has a high likelihood of reopening and will be exposed to dirty water and countless microbes, creating a very real risk of serious infection. And with every movement the goose makes, the arrow can shift, wiggle, and twist within his body.
💚What happens next?
At this point, ODNR is stepping in to assess the situation and see what they can do.
We also want to be honest about what that may mean. As much as all of us want to see this goose safely captured and brought into care, capture may simply not be possible. The goose remains highly mobile and can fly and swim, and the repeated encounters with people have understandably made him extremely difficult to approach.
Wildlife rescue doesn't always have the ending we hope for. Wild animals don't understand that we're trying to help. They only know that they are being pursued, and their instinct is to survive. Sometimes, despite our very best efforts, we cannot safely intervene.
That is incredibly difficult for everyone involved, especially when we know an animal is suffering. But ODNR's wildlife professionals will approach this situation with the animal's welfare in mind, carefully weighing what can realistically be done and what is safest for the goose.
We are incredibly grateful to the community for caring so deeply about this goose. Your concern and compassion are exactly what wildlife needs. Please allow ODNR the space to assess the situation and make the best decisions possible for this animal.
We all want the same thing: what is best for the Canada goose, even if it hurts our hearts.
