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The common adage goes, "Be careful of what you wish for. You might get it."
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Concerned about the sharply declining resident goose population in Central Park over the past five years, in addition to aggressive goose harassment and egg destruction policies, I worried that there would be no geese at CP within 5 to 10 years. Put simply, new goslings were not being allowed to hatch to replace those geese lost to attrition in the near future.
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It was however, pleasing and very exciting to note that despite the odds against it, three tiny goslings hatched at the Jackie Onassis Reservoir in early June!
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But, right from the start, there was something very "different" about the particular goose family -- an anomaly, so to speak .
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For one matter, the parent geese, ("Hansel and Greta") had the little ones swimming virtually the entire circumference of the mile and a quarter Reservoir within hours of their hatching and covering every nook and cranny amongst the jagged rocks surrounding it.
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Even more striking than the physical workout the newly hatched (and exhausted) babies were being subjected to, was the fact, the family did not swim in typical goose formation (straight line with one parent leading and the other anchoring the back with goslings in protected middle.) Rather, these parents simply took off on their own and the hatchlings were forced to follow, often trailing behind or wandering far off from the free-wheeling and seemingly "lackadaisical" parents.
I and other goose watchers worried constantly over the seeming lack of vigilance and protection the three goose babies were getting from their parents. It was typical to frequently see Hansel and Greta with only one or two goslings and have to search for the missing other(s).
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One evening, one of the tiny goslings even strayed so far from the family as to end up spending the night tagging along with another goose flock on the water. Fortunately, the next morning he was reunited back with the family, though it isn't clear if the unrelated goose flock led and dropped him off on the parents (with stern message) or Hansel and Greta actually sought him out.
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Under these strange and unusual circumstances, it should have come as no surprise that we sadly lost two of the three goslings within a month of their hatching -- one of them within the last two weeks.
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Since then, I have worried about the lone, surviving gosling, "Remy."
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Poor Remy. Now alone with no other siblings or even goslings on the entire watercourse, she has to try and make her way in an entirely adult world that is not always so attentive and caring towards her.
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As for Remy's parents, they have seemingly made few sacrifices to accommodate for the fact they still have a little one to look after and protect. When the mood strikes, they go and it is Remy's responsibility to follow and try to keep up. While Hansel has always demonstrated devotion and fierce protection towards his mate, Greta, his devotion towards his one surviving baby is far more questionable and mysterious.
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At no time has this parental, "whatever will be, will be" attitude towards their offspring been more pronounced than the last week.
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Earlier, we had several rain storms in NYC which presumably left the rocks wet and slippery.
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Though somewhat common to see one of the geese or goslings take a tumble on the rocks, they usually pick themselves up immediately and appear to be more embarrassed than actually hurt.
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But, while running across rocks, Remy slipped and tumbled, head first, somersaulting backwards at least three times before finally landing hard in the water.
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My heart leapt to throat when witnessing such a hard fall for the little one, but she appeared to have no serious or visible injury.
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But, Remy was definitely stunned and shaken up.
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For a long time, Remy remained alone in the water seemingly dazed and listless, barely moving.
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Her parents (true to form) paid no mind to the event and simply continued grazing on the rocks with other geese as if nothing happened.
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The scene reminded me of how two formerly nesting geese appeared on the water shortly before they died and I truly thought I was seeing the last of our precious little Remy.
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But, of course there was no way to rescue Remy at the fenced-in Reservoir and I could not be certain she was actually in mortal danger or even seriously hurt.
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And so, I decided to go home and return later in the day to check on Remy.
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I returned to the Reservoir about 6 PM that day totally prepared for the worst. I would either not see Remy at all or would see her small, lifeless body floating on the water.
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But, shock of shocks, Remy was again swimming a few feet behind her parents and appeared to be perfectly fine and healthy as if nothing had happened!
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Once again, Remy confidently bounded upon the rocks with her parents to graze, all memory of past trauma seemingly behind her. I could even imagine Remy's self-focused, "modern" parents looking up and laughing at me. "See? What were you worried about? We knew she'd be OK. If she makes it, she makes it. If not, well, it wasn't meant to be. She has to learn life the hard way! We don't baby our kids!"
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Last night too, I did not see the family at all when first going around the Reservoir and was once again convinced that we had lost our last precious gosling.
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But, then Hansel and Greta finally showed with Remy trailing a few feet behind.
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By that time, I was past my nineteenth nervous breakdown with this particular goose family which, from day one has never been "typical."
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Now, with the molting season soon to end and adult geese to regain their flight feathers, I worry if Hansel and Greta will simply take off with the other geese, leaving poor flightless Remy behind to "learn life the hard way?" After all, self sacrifice (for the sake of their kids) doesn't seem to be these parents thing.
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Of all the nesting geese at Central Park this year who either died or whose eggs were oiled and failed to hatch, how ironic was it that these two actually nested successfully?
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Or, was it really so ironic at all?
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One wonders if there is reason for this miracle hatching, other than luck and/or randomness? Moreover, what could account for this seeming change in "normal" parental goose behavior? Are Hansel and Greta simply "bad" or youthful, inexperienced goose parents? Or, is this change in parental style some kind of peculiar adaptation to the stresses that most geese have to endure these days from hunting pressures, to cullings, to harassment and egg destruction?
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Could it be that some "modern" goose parents now surmise that their goslings have to learn toughness and independence from day one in order to ultimately survive? Are they willing to lose most of their offspring in order to insure that the ones who do survive are capable of withstanding anything, including near parental detachment?
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I don't personally know the answers to any of the above questions as nothing observed in this particular goose family resembles that previously observed and reported in others.
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But, I do know that what was wished for and actually occurred, turned out to be nothing of what was actually anticipated or expected.
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Rather, this "modern" goose family has mostly served to raise an infinite number of questions that could only be answered by observations of and comparisons to others.
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For the moment, Hansel and Greta are keeping their secrets and keeping this one perplexed goose watcher guessing and worried for their one surviving baby.
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If Remy makes it to adulthood, that will be the real miracle as she will have survived everything, including parental detachment. -- PCA
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