Advertisement

natureNaturenatureanimals

Geese Decapitated And Hit By Car On Idaho Road, Sparking Investigation By Wildlife Authorities

A road lined with decapitated geese – and their babies – has sparked an investigation by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game

author

Tom Hale

author

Tom Hale

Senior Journalist

Tom is a writer in London with a Master's degree in Journalism whose editorial work covers anything from health and the environment to technology and archaeology.

Senior Journalist

clockPublished
share1.9kShares
 Senior Conservation Officer Kolby White investigates scene where multiple adult Canada geese with goslings were killed by a vehicle on Bloomington Bottoms Road near Bloomington over 4th of July weekend.
Senior Conservation Officer Kolby White investigates scene where multiple adult Canada geese with goslings were killed by a vehicle on Bloomington Bottoms Road near Bloomington over 4th of July weekend. Image credit: Kolby White/Idaho Fish and Game

Update 19/07/2022: This article has been updated with comments from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game

A gaggle of dead and decapitated geese was found in Idaho after the 4th of July weekend in what wildlife authorities suspect may have been a malicious attack by a human. 

Advertisement

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) says that three groups of Canadian geese and their goslings were hit by a car along a 183-meter (200-yard) stretch of road in Bloomington, Bear Lake County. In each location, the heads of many of the dead geese were removed and taken from the scene.

It's not certain how the decapitations occurred, but authorities have ruled out the possibility of an animal scavenging the bodies. 

“It is [...] possible decapitation could have happened as a result of the vehicle collision itself.  At this point, it is not entirely clear how decapitation occurred,” Jennifer Jackson, Regional Communications Manager at Idaho Department of Fish and Game, told IFLScience.

“The timeline does not really lend itself to a scavenger scenario, however, because the reports came in so soon following the incident, and the investigation commenced very quickly.  Regardless of the cause of decapitation, the point remains that someone intentionally ran over three separate groups of geese and their non-flying goslings on the same section of road over this past Fourth of July weekend,” added Jackson.

Senior Conservation Officer Kolby White investigates a decapitated Canada goose carcass in Idaho.
Senior Conservation Officer Kolby White investigates a decapitated Canada goose carcass. Image credit: Kolby White/Idaho Fish and Game





Struck by the grisliness of the crime, the IDFG has asked anyone with any information on the incident to contact Senior Conservation Officer Kolby White in Montpelier at 208-204-3921 or the Citizens Against Poaching Hotline at 1-800-632-5999. 

“Callers can remain anonymous and rewards are available to those with information that leads to an arrest,” they said in a press release

The Canada goose (Branta canadensis) is native to North America but has been introduced to other parts of the world. Some populations breed in Canada and the northern United States in the summer months and can migrate down as far as the southern US and northern Mexico during the winter. Other populations of the bird species can be found in Idaho all year round and are extremely common in the state. 

It is legal to hunt Canada geese in Idaho, but people must follow a number of rules and regulations.

Heads were removed from many of the dead geese - like this one - and taken from the scene in Idaho.
Heads were removed from many of the dead geese - like this one - and taken from the scene. Image credit: Kolby White/Idaho Fish and Game



ARTICLE POSTED IN

natureNaturenatureanimals
  • tag
  • animals,

  • death,

  • crime,

  • geese

FOLLOW ONNEWSGoogele News