‘Our main problems with the geese are the people who feed them,’ said André de Brouwer, who is in charge of Terrain Maintenance on campus. ‘The road works may be disturbing them, but the geese tend to move themselves as they need quiet for their nesting activities.’
The UT does not actually own the birds which are wild animals. ‘During the first bird flu epidemic in 2006, the municipality forced us to capture all the geese and hold them in cages for two months,’ said De Brouwer. ‘Remarkably, all these captive geese survived. At that time, we had 60 to 70 geese living on campus which is too many for our acreage.’
The Faculty Service Center was assisted by the Gedomesticeerde Watervogelverenigingor Domestic Water Bird Foundation who provided food and shelter for the captive birds. During this time, it was discovered that some of the campus geese were a breed particular to Twente, a smaller, blue-eyed Twentse landgans or Twente Land Goose.For centuries, these birds were bred and marketed to Northern Holland, England and Germany. In 1887, there were 60,000 Twente Land Geese raised in the local marshlands, while in 2005 there were only 100 exhibited in special breeder shows.
After the bird flu, the Domestic Water Bird Foundation took some of the ‘purest’ Twente Land Geese for breeding on special farms while the other varieties were encouraged to spread across campus and into nearby Van Heek Park. ‘We are continually trying to move them away from roads and people by leaving food for them in places where we want them to live,’ explained De Brouwer. ‘The last thing we want is for people to feed these birds, except in winter when there is little for them to forage.’
The geese on campus now number about 40 and their only natural enemies are the magpies who pick on their eggs. The UT geese build their nests near the waterways. Geese are monogamous, and the male goose shares sitting on the eggs. Often swans and African geese stop at the UT for two or three days and then continue on their migration routes. Other campus wildlife includes rare tree mice, kingfishers, squirrels, and many breeds of ducks. In 2007, the fish on campus were assessed which revealed that our waterways are brimming with life.
Even the trees on campus are carefully monitored. Recently 40 of the older and larger trees, from Dutch oak to chestnut, were scanned to see if their trunks were healthy and strong enough to keep the tree standing. ‘We found that six trees have to go,’ said Ray Klumpert, Head of the Maintenance Department. ‘We also took down trees to maintain the characteristics and diversity of certain woods. For example, beech trees, which grow wide and broad, will take over a wood.’
A special note for you English-language fans, the term goose applies to the female bird, while gander is used for the male. Young birds are called goslings. A group of geese on the ground is called a gaggle, and when geese fly in formation they are called a wedge or a skein.
Catherine Ann Lombard
‘Nobody really knows how the geese will handle the new road,’ Klumpert admitted. ‘But please don’t feed them except in the winter.’ Photo: UT-Nieuws Archieve
