The Houston Zoo is home to a lot of animals, and some of them are often overlooked. This series of blog entries is focused on the animals that you may have missed on your last visit.
There are many different birds on Duck Lake, including wild ducks that come in to visit, but visitors may not realize that there are 4 different kinds of geese in this waterfowl exhibit. The lake is home to 2 red-breasted geese, 3 bar-headed geese, 2 barnacle geese, and 13 nene (also known as Hawaiian geese). Geese are generally larger than ducks, and tend to graze on shore rather than eating aquatic plants like most ducks.
Nene or Hawaiian Goose at Duck Lake
The Nene is the state bird of Hawaii. This brown goose is endemic to that state, where it lives on hardened lava flows and eats mostly succulents. Because they have to walk and even run on uneven surfaces, these geese have especially strong feet and legs.
A Barnacle Goose is mostly dark with a large white patch covering most of its face. These birds are native to northern Europe, including Great Britain, and they nest in the arctic. Because Europeans did not ever see these birds nest, there is a strange myth about where they came from. This myth says that these geese come, not from eggs, but from barnacles. When wood was steeped in sea water (like the sides of a ship), the barnacles grew out of the wood, eventually turning into geese.
Bar-headed Geese have black bars on the sides of their white heads. These birds live on lakes and rivers in the highlands of Central Asia, and winter in northern India. Like the Nene, these geese have long legs to make it easy for them to walk on land.
Red-Breasted Geese at Duck Lake
The Red-breasted Goose is brightly colored, making it easy to spot among the birds of Duck Lake. These geese breed in the Arctic Circle, like the Barnacle Geese, but are primarily found in northern Asia. The female goose builds her nest near falcon or hawk nests, as the birds of prey naturally chase off any foxes or other land predators.
To find these geese at the Houston Zoo, look for them on Duck Lake. They are often walking around on the land, near the flamingo exhibit or around towards the Children’s Zoo. Please remember that geese can be very aggressive; if they come near the fence, it is not a good idea to reach over.
Of course, no animal is guaranteed to be visible everyday. Even if you know where to look, you might still miss the animal if it is off exhibit or hiding especially well. Our geese on Duck Lake are often quite prominent, though, and now you can impress family and friends by pointing them out on your next visit!
