Three-Winged Goose Needs Home Sweet Home
Description
By Emily Oz
August 27, 2008
MIAMI -- Talk about a rare bird! A goose with three wings has been discovered at a golf course in Florida.
The Egyptian Goose is in its first year of life. Vets at the Wildlife Care Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida say the animal is too young to tell its sex, but old enough to see the lagging limb its developed.
“Once we got it in here we took it out of the carrier and we just couldn't believe it! Because I’ve never seen that before,” said Dr. Stefan Harsch, who is caring for the bird.
In fact, no one at the Wildlife Care Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has ever seen seen anything like it before. The X-rays tell the story of the rare birth defect plaguing its wing.
“The humorous has two ends which are not supposed to be there,” said Harsch.
Harsch says the bird survived until now, with the help of its mother goose. But its troubles were beginning as its age and independence were growing.
“It obviously couldn’t fly with these double-wings on one side,” said Harsch. “But also the wing was very droopy and because of all these bones and feathers it was constantly tripping over this wing that was dragging on the ground. So we had to do something.”
Vets decided an amputation of the “extra” wing was essential for its survival. Surgery went well. The goose seems to be doing much better with the lighter load.
It wears a purple cast while the wing heals.
Meanwhile, the staff at the Wildlife Care Center have been busy fielding calls from those who want to adopt the goose.
“Today has been the worst, it made the local newspaper front page and the phones have just rung off the hook literally with goose calls,” said Michelle Frier, the adoption supervisior at the Wildlife Care Center.
But goose is already spoken for. The Florida golf course, where it was discovered, wants it back once it's healed. A safe, domestic home is the only place this bird will live a long and happy life. Because even with the amputation, the goose will never be able to fly away from predators.
The Wildlife Care Center has many more birds and other animals up for adoption. For more information, visit WildCare.org.
August 27, 2008
MIAMI -- Talk about a rare bird! A goose with three wings has been discovered at a golf course in Florida.
The Egyptian Goose is in its first year of life. Vets at the Wildlife Care Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida say the animal is too young to tell its sex, but old enough to see the lagging limb its developed.
“Once we got it in here we took it out of the carrier and we just couldn't believe it! Because I’ve never seen that before,” said Dr. Stefan Harsch, who is caring for the bird.
In fact, no one at the Wildlife Care Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has ever seen seen anything like it before. The X-rays tell the story of the rare birth defect plaguing its wing.
“The humorous has two ends which are not supposed to be there,” said Harsch.
Harsch says the bird survived until now, with the help of its mother goose. But its troubles were beginning as its age and independence were growing.
“It obviously couldn’t fly with these double-wings on one side,” said Harsch. “But also the wing was very droopy and because of all these bones and feathers it was constantly tripping over this wing that was dragging on the ground. So we had to do something.”
Vets decided an amputation of the “extra” wing was essential for its survival. Surgery went well. The goose seems to be doing much better with the lighter load.
It wears a purple cast while the wing heals.
Meanwhile, the staff at the Wildlife Care Center have been busy fielding calls from those who want to adopt the goose.
“Today has been the worst, it made the local newspaper front page and the phones have just rung off the hook literally with goose calls,” said Michelle Frier, the adoption supervisior at the Wildlife Care Center.
But goose is already spoken for. The Florida golf course, where it was discovered, wants it back once it's healed. A safe, domestic home is the only place this bird will live a long and happy life. Because even with the amputation, the goose will never be able to fly away from predators.
The Wildlife Care Center has many more birds and other animals up for adoption. For more information, visit WildCare.org.
