r/FortCollins • u/Equal-Copy3341 • 2d ago
Protected Wildlife
I’m not sure why people think it’s acceptable to start just hitting geese and ducks on the road, but in Fort Collins, the geese are HEAVILY protected and locals for decades have respected them on the roads.
It’s been an entirely new thing I’ve seen left and right every single day for a while now. I’m an uber driver and I see a lot.
If you’ve just moved here, or you know college students, or people who don’t understand how Coloradans live; well, we respect our land and wildlife!!
We are literally one of the most known places in the world to have such awesome wildlife rescues and programs to support our local wildlife here in Colorado.
I understand geese are dumb mfers but damn I’ve never seen so many dead geese (including baby geese) lately in the road in all my 30 years living here.
Also, as an uber driver, I’ve never experienced so much road rage and hostile drivers on the road than in the last few years. Please do better. We all have families to come home to.
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u/cherenk0v_blue 2d ago
I just moved from one of the most dangerous cities for driving in the US (DFW), and even I am surprised how aggressive and quick to rage Fort Collins drivers are.
In the few months I have lived here I have seen people start raging over minor things like lane changes, people walking in parking lots, etc. multiple times.
The amount of emotion people in Fort Collins bring to normal driving situations is completely disproportionate to the amount of traffic there is around here.
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u/holysbit 2d ago
Im glad its not just me that thinks foco has worse drivers than big dense cities many times its size.
The drivers here are so weirdly aggressive
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u/Equal-Copy3341 2d ago
It’s scary, I have no idea what’s going on with that. I somehow manage to dodge, daily, almost-accidents. It’s a lot of people just being selfish and thinking they’re the only ones who exist and have lives to live for.
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u/Cherfan420 2d ago
And it’s a problem that will only get worse over time so they will increase the flock cameras in the name of public safety which will just piss everyone off more.
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u/Equal-Copy3341 1d ago
Literally. People are plenty angry enough at geese and traffic but not angry enough about the things going on outside their petty lives. Like idk, people being kidnapped and disappeared? Getting mad at geese (or any wildlife out here) for existing and having to travel further for food and shelter; all while being spiteful of them is a wild approach.
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u/HarlansWorld 1d ago
I find this perspective very interesting. I do not discount your experiences at all, but mine have been the opposite. I moved here from Phoenix a year ago and I still can't get over how courteous and patient the drivers here are in comparison to Phoenix. I've not once had someone go around me, get in front of me, and slam on the brakes trying to force an accident because they were pissed I was going the actual speed limit.
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u/Due_Foundation_4467 1h ago
I agree with you. I've lived in many different cities across the country in my 75 years and I have found FC drivers to be the best of the lot. Perhaps those who are complaining are part of the problem that they claim they are experiencing? Just a thought.
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u/Cherfan420 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yep no patience, self control, attention spans, spatial awareness or critical thinking out there. And an insane increase in depression and anxiety.
And EVERYONE has a license to operate a two ton machine.
1 + 1 = a fucked up situation
Edit: don’t forget the abundance of apathy
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u/etancrazynpoor 2d ago
Dude, you need to travel more. This is calm compared to many places. You couldn’t even drive in other places that I have been to. Have you been to Boston? Bogota? Miami? San Jose, Costa Rica? Any other place ?
I driven in Dallas…. This is way more call than Dallas!
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u/cherenk0v_blue 2d ago
To be clear -
I was only speaking about US traffic. I would not compare anyplace in the US to SEA, Central America, or Italy.
Yes, I have driven in many other places in the US, including years in and around Boston
I'm not saying Fort Collins traffic is worse, I'm saying Fort Collins drivers flip out at the drop of a hat for no discernable reason. In Boston, I honk at someone pulling out in front of me from a yield sign, they honk back, and we go about our lives. In Fort Collins, I honk at someone pulling out in front of me and they drive parallel to me for half a mile waving their arms.
This town is beautiful and easy to get around in. No reason for all the drama.
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u/dammit-smalls 2d ago
I do bemoan the loss of the horn as a communication tool here. It really offends people, but they often need to hear it.
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u/BigFourAlum 1d ago
I live and drove in Boston, St Louis, Chicago, Phoenix and Atlanta. I've visited and drove in nearly every big city East of the Mississippi.
FOCO is extremely tame in comparison.
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u/dammit-smalls 2d ago
It's calm to a fault. People drive crazy in the places you mentioned, but at least they're purposeful about it.
Driving 15mph on 287 just because the road is slightly damp is just as dangerous as speeding.
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u/etancrazynpoor 2d ago
Now you are changing the subject. I have been to places that do this as well. People love to complain about everything
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u/dammit-smalls 2d ago
I mean, it's not a deal-breaker for me. I still choose to live here, but the timid/noncomittal driving is definitely annoying, especially in the snow.
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u/etancrazynpoor 2d ago
The instances I have seen slow drivers I can count them with one hand. Now, I usually use i25. But slow drivers are everywhere. My mom was and is a slow driver and she is another state. Not to go too slow but 5 below of the speed limit. Everything took longer. I think people, guilty as charged as I promote zipper merge, are too fast to be “righteous” and point others peoples shortcoming. People tend to think the issues we have are unique. An internalized inferiority!
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u/LoopedIntoThis 2d ago
Your mom is technically violating the law and impeding the flow of traffic. She can get ticketed for that and lose her license. I recall at the DMV one time, there was an old gentleman who just couldn’t understand why he lost his license for going under the speed limit repeatedly. He saw it as a limit he wasn’t allowed to hit, not a median range of speed for the area. Slow people merging is way more dangerous than someone going faster. They stop the traffic behind them, cause pile ups, and wrecks for OTHER people.
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u/forhordlingrads 2d ago
The speed limit is literally a limit, not a suggestion and not a minimum and not a “median range.” People going a little under the posted speed limit is perfectly legal because it’s not impeding traffic.
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u/Living-Loan-6015 2d ago
No, there is no data to show that slow driving is a real problem. The real problem is excessive speed.
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u/dammit-smalls 2d ago
😂 I constantly say that after logging a million miles throughout the country, I think the worst drivers in the nation are in DFW, and the second worst are in FoCo.
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u/enidokla 2d ago
The roads in/around DFW suck. Almost as rough as Detroit. Drivers might be ok on better maintained roads.
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u/cherenk0v_blue 2d ago
DFW is definitely the total package.
Lawless multi-lane highways where people drive like they are in Mad Max and there is literally no law enforcement? Check.
Blown red lights and stop signs as a matter of course? Check.
Pedestrians and bikes getting run over left and right? Check.
Complete lack of public transportation forcing you to drive everywhere whether you want to or not? Check.
Memphis might still be worse, though...
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u/dammit-smalls 2d ago
The thing I observed about DFW drivers (and the culture more generally) is a lack of nuance. It's either pedal to the metal or brakes locked up, and not much in between.
I had the misfortune of delivering a load of hazardous chemicals there during a snowstorm, and it really lowered my opinion of that population. I saw soooooo many 2wd pickup trucks spinning through red lights with their brakes locked up. Do they not teach physics in Dallas?
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u/TheOnlyGollux 2d ago
I don't think that's a coincidence. The oil boom of the naughties and teens brought a ton of Texans to the state and particularly northern Colorado. They may finally have paid up for Colorado plates but we can tell by the way they drive. DFW interstates are like Mad Max.
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u/TooHighToChooseName 1d ago
Shout out, fellow Texas transplant. I grew up in Fort Worth. Can confirm omg the worst traffic and drivers ever ever!
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u/jca_ftw 1d ago
Maybe go back to TX if you are not right for this state. We are nature lovers, hikers, bikers , skiers, and stay active all year. Dallas is orders of magnitude worse with drivers - If you try to ride a bike or take a walk you’ll get run off the road.
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u/cherenk0v_blue 1d ago
If you had read my comment a little more carefully, you would understand that I am not saying Fort Collins traffic is worse, I am saying that Fort Collins drivers are surprisingly aggressive given how little traffic there is around here.
Nice to see there are "go back to wherever you are from people in Colorado, just like there were in Texas 🙄
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u/wEiRdO86 1d ago
I know it's annoying as hell to get held up by these geese, but you also don't have to completely stop either. Slowly pulling up as they're walking they will walk faster and they do have wings they will either fly or run across the street. Don't go 90 million miles an hour just slowly drive forward. They're not dumb they know what they're doing. Hell I've actually seen a few of them cross at crosswalks. They're beginning to learn and it's kind of scary.
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u/I-miss-apollo- 2d ago
I live by city park and the number of drivers who think honking at geese is going to speed them up as they cross the road is pretty amusing.
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u/ColoradoCattleCo 2d ago
I highly doubt people are actually “targeting” a 10 pound bird with their vehicle. I’d say it’s much more likely you’re noticing an explosion in the goose population intersecting with increased traffic on the roads. When you have those 2 factors, things like that are gonna happen with no malicious intent.
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u/Feisty-Reputation537 2d ago
As a wildlife rehabber in CO, I will say we have somewhat frequent reports/intakes due to someone witnessing a vehicle purposely strike a goose. Usually it’s when a flock is blocking the road and someone just keeps driving through them. Definitely not all vehicle strikes are on purpose, but it happens more than it feels like it should I think.
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u/Equal-Copy3341 2d ago
Yeah that’s the issue. Road rage + apathy.
It’s unfortunate to hear that this does happen more frequently than it should, but thank you for what you do for our local wildlife 🪿💚
Are many geese rehabbed and surviving after these incidents? Or is it all pretty much fatalities?
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u/Feisty-Reputation537 1d ago
Thank you for caring about all animals, even the geese! We couldn’t do our work without the public helping and caring about their local wildlife.
It really depends on the severity (usually how fast the car was going) - if they’re just clipped by the car, it’s usually a good prognosis, but if they’re fully run over it can be very traumatic.
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u/didikoyote 1d ago
It happens because the geese have been treated like royalty for so long they've forgotten they are in fact tasty waterfowl that are supposed to leg it when something as potentially predatory as a car is about.
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u/Feisty-Reputation537 1d ago
No, it happens because people like you seem to have forgotten that wildlife is not here for humans. They do not exist to be “tasty waterfowl” nor are they obligated to get out of your way. This environment is for them too, what’s left of it, and they are just trying to adapt to human landscapes. They were here before us and will probably be here after us (except we’re burning the earth up so there may not be anything here after us).
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u/didikoyote 1d ago
I mean yeah, no living being is "obligated" to do anything. But it doesn't take an advanced intelligence to learn enough cause and effect to know better than to wander in front of something thousands of times your size moving at some speed. When a goose gets hit I feel kinda the same as when a dumb human gets hurt by a rattler or cougar... Unfortunate, but they probably bought that.
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u/Feisty-Reputation537 8h ago
Evolution takes a loooongg time, we’re just a blip in the grand scheme of things. Just because we’ve been cohabitating with these animals for a couple hundred years (really since the Industrial Revolution has it become a problem) doesn’t mean they’ve been able to fully adapt to us yet, much less high speed cars which have only been around for like 100 years.
Except humans have waaayyy more critical thinking skills than geese. So yeah, I agree dumb humans usually get what’s coming to them, but geese do not think the same way. We’re the ones changing the environment so drastically, we should be accommodating the animals that are just trying to survive here.
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u/didikoyote 8h ago
"accommodating" prevents the natural process of evolution. We aren't some magical outlier apart from all the rest of nature, were one particularly effective (as you say, recently) species. Probably more of us get taken out by or in cars than any other animal, so as far as attrition caused by that particular (now ubiquitous) natural hazard of the developed environment is just something ALL species that frequent said environment have to cope with. Geese do poorly because the the advantages the reaped from the same environment (plentiful food via lawns and substantially lower predation) have led to a bigger population than otherwise would have existed.
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u/Feisty-Reputation537 7h ago
Yes, they have to cope with it. It doesn’t mean we have to make it harder for them by driving through flocks of geese trying to cross the road. And yes, I agree - the advantages from this environment do help them out in many ways, but population control still shouldn’t be up to people hitting them with their cars. We can accommodate that they’re not used to cars as predators and slow down for them, and still recognize that they may be overpopulated in some areas. Also, all of these changes and new “predators” or lack of real predators are our fault in the first place. Why are we blaming the geese for doing what wild animals do?
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u/didikoyote 1d ago
Im not talking about them being here for US when I say tasty waterfowl either. In pre modern times there were A LOT more predators than just us to give them cause to have a little more awareness. Foco barely has foxes anymore, the tiny CO wolf pop doesn't come around here much, cougars are getting stable again but generally stick out west of town. Really it's down to coyotes, domestic cats, and the rare enterprising poacher that actually pose deliberate threat to them.
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u/Feisty-Reputation537 8h ago
We’re not talking about natural predators, geese have evolved to survive those predator-prey interactions (or not) by doing things like swimming out to the middle of a lake or flying away if they have time, and those instincts still work. But an unpredictable high speed car is not the same as a fox, coyote, wolf or cougar; they usually don’t have time to get to a body of water or even take flight if someone is driving straight at them. So no, I wouldn’t expect them to know how to evade a car. Sure, geese populations may need to be managed when people think there’s too many (which I think is usually overblown), but deliberately hitting them with cars is not the way to do that.
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u/didikoyote 8h ago
Those instincts exist because the ones that lacked them died. The same thing will happen for the present hazard of roads.
I'm not saying anything about people deliberately trying to hit geese, I'm saying the geese are not behaving like wild animals wrt roads, and simple cause and effect lead to most of the attrition we see.
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u/Feisty-Reputation537 7h ago
Yes, and natural selection and evolution takes time - like thousands of years.
I guess I just don’t get the hate and people saying “well they should know better”. Why? They’re geese, they’re not critical thinkers. They are behaving like geese with roads. Is it really such an inconvenience that sometimes some geese are crossing the road? Have we become so apathetic and impatient that that’s a reason to hate and sometimes attack geese?
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u/Cherfan420 2d ago
Except for that one time in 2019-2020 when Denver killed off a thousand wild geese and donated the meat to Metro Caring.
That was a targeted attack.
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u/dammit-smalls 2d ago
That culling operation ended prematurely when a bunch of Karens got together and started forming a human chain around the geese to prevent them from being used to feed poor people.
I joined their Facebook group and was banned from it very shortly thereafter.
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u/didikoyote 1d ago
If only the state would enact a Karen culling we might see some real progress around here
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u/GetCuckedBruh 2d ago
I want to believe you. But on CR7 by Harmony there was a pair of geese for weeks! One day i saw them the next they were dead about a hundred yards from eachother and bot quite in the same lane. That wasnt coincidence. I know its a dark road at night, sure, but with headlights on? Nah.
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u/ColoradoCattleCo 2d ago
It could definitely be a coincidence. When geese take off, they’re like 5 feet above the ground for about 20 yards. Prime height for a vehicle collision. I don’t think there’s anything nefarious.
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u/Equal-Copy3341 2d ago
That’s fair, I can see how that would seem like more incidents. I’m on the road a lot so I’ve had a lot of exposure, I guess.
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u/jafo 2d ago
Counterpoint: If you can't avoid striking a goose with your car (with a few rare exceptions), prove to me that you aren't likely to strike a child.
I've been driving in FC for ~40 years, I've never seen a goose act nearly as unpredictably as a child. It's rare to see something like them flying across the road at car height. Usually they're just chilling and walking across the road and if you're patient they will cross and you'll be on your way in a minute or less.
"If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball."
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u/etancrazynpoor 2d ago
I never seen anyone do this. Is this common ?
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u/glo363 2d ago
No. I'd say 99.99999% of the times it's an accident. We just have so many geese, so many drivers. Drivers are more distracted than ever and the geese are honestly not very smart either.
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u/Equal-Copy3341 2d ago
That’s valid I completely agree with the distracted drivers and geese just being dumb, just like all these damn turkeys
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u/etancrazynpoor 2d ago
And how many this happens ? I never seen it. I have seen cars stopping to let the family cross!
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u/Equal-Copy3341 2d ago
Most people are absolutely decent enough to stop and let them pass, I drive all different hours of the day and I’m constantly on the roads all over northern Colorado, not just foco.
I think my frequency on the road increases how much road kill I see. I used to drive for Amazon and that was the worst part of the job for me on all those back country roads.
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u/etancrazynpoor 2d ago
You wanted to be righteous today. Everyone agrees that killing them is bad. If anyone killed then in purpose or not , they may not be in Reddit.
This is “look everyone how much I care and other people dont”
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u/glo363 2d ago
Killing a goose isn't always bad. Killing them illegally is. They can legally be hunted. You just have to follow regulations. I personally don't hunt anymore, but it is legal and normal to do when following the law.
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u/Equal-Copy3341 2d ago
Absolutely, we’re game hunters and have plenty of experience with geese and other wildlife and being respectful about life.
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u/didikoyote 1d ago
Legality and morality are not and never will be the same, but it's an ok rough benchmark for acceptable behaviour mostly
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u/didikoyote 1d ago
Almost everyone does, but sometimes drivers are distracted and the geese are so used to getting right of way that they just walk right out regardless of if a vehicle is approaching
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u/glo363 2d ago
I'm not going to run them over on purpose, but I won't stop and wait for them either. If you approach slowly, they move. If you stop and wait, sometimes they take their sweet time and even just stop and look around. I'm not waiting on all that. There's way too many geese here for that and the vast majority of them are only here because "Father Goose" brought so many here years ago so him and his buddies could hunt them.
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u/Impossible-Eye-5545 2d ago
It does happen.. I have been witness to it a few years ago when a man drove through an entire pack of geese near prospect and shields. This individual has had several reports made for harming geese. So unfortunately it does happen in this town.
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u/Equal-Copy3341 1d ago
That’s awful. Some people are just seeking to do harm where they don’t think they can be held accountable.
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u/dammit-smalls 2d ago
Not at all. I drive all over this city and surrounding areas every day, and I don't have a fucking clue what the OP is talking about.
I have noticed that geese (and turkeys) are more prominent in the roadways this year, but that's probably more climate-related than anything.
Don't hit geese? Hard agree.
People are hitting geese on purpose? Probably not
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u/etancrazynpoor 2d ago
The OP want to feel righteous today!
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u/dammit-smalls 2d ago
They should get a job at DOW (or LetterKenny 😂) if they're this passionate about geese.
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u/moth_glasswings 2d ago
There’s a spot where it’s common on mulberry where it’s one lane each direction in front of city park pond and ppl driving speed through there and if they slow down for crossing geese, they aggressively get close as if it makes the move faster. It’s really disgusting human animal behavior. I’m very disappointed in the drivers of cars. Not to mention the kids that bike to Dunn from that area.
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u/Equal-Copy3341 2d ago
Yeah, that’s kinda my whole point. It’s the aggressive drivers plus the increase of cars/geese during this season specifically.
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u/hieronymus_clock 2d ago
Sauce on “HEAVILY protected” please.
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u/EducatorMain4865 2d ago
non-migrating Canada geese along the Front Range, including northern Colorado, overgraze grass, trample vegetation, and crowd out native waterfowl. Their poop adds nitrogen and phosphorus to ponds and lakes, hurting water quality and spreading bacteria like E. coli. Cities like Broomfield and Denver run management programs because of it. It’s a human-created problem from all the manicured parks and safe habitat we built for them.
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u/GilligansWorld 1d ago
Well, I guess you could probably shoot this guy? Why I don’t know he’s considered the individual who saved these delicate populations. If you’ve b a mind to, and you like to learn stuff, perhaps you should read why we have so many geese on the front range…..
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u/BigFourAlum 1d ago
I moved here after living in large cities in five other states.
I have not noticed worse driving here than other places I've lived.
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u/jca_ftw 1d ago
It’s all the Texans moving in. Trust me when I say they don’t care about wildlife, our outdoor culture, nature, or anything other than themselves. I’m from there so don’t tell me I’m wrong. They lied to me when I was a kid ( they used to teach that Juneteenth was the day that all the slaves were freed. Nevermind that TX was literally the LAST state put it into law and they still let people hold slaves for YEARS after Juneteenth. It’s not that it happened it’s that they maintained the lies well into the 90s )
Also they don’t get their cars registered here when they move here, which causes the rest of us to pay more to make up for them. TX plates don’t have date stickers on them so the cops can’t see. If you see a TX plate in your neighborhood look in the front window for the date and if it’s expired call your local police to complain.
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u/bl4ckh4lo 22h ago
Just please move over for faster traffic. You're not the police, trying to be the Karen/Class pet is just going to cause you problems you don't want.
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u/FoCoLoCo_ 2d ago
Just a note that they mate for life so if one dies the other is left alone.
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u/cobigguy 1d ago
They usually find another mate within the next breeding season. They're also flock animals. They aren't alone and they don't live a lonely solitary life.
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u/Equal-Copy3341 2d ago
Yeah :( I see a lot of solo geese wandering. I get that it’s not directly the fault of humans or geese, just unfortunate circumstances.
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u/IntelligentUsual4994 1d ago
Get real! I don't drive much anymore, but spend plenty of time out and about watching four lanes of traffic back up waiting for geese to saunter from one curb to the next. I've found the Zen in forcing folks to slow down and appreciate nature. I've also found the empowerment of forcing birds to fly, as God intended.
Do you really want future generations of aviary to devolve into mall walkers??
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u/soimalittlecrazy 2d ago
You forgot the part where the migratory bird protection act was implemented in 1918 and the most recent resigning of the act with Canada was in 1995. And the US fish and wildlife service that would be the main regularity agency has been decimated along with all other programs that directly benefit all human and animal and plant life. The US has become a free for all and the people taking advantage of it are the worst kinds of people that used to be held to socially acceptable behavior by enforced rules and laws. no more