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Living Along The Appomattox ...
By Pamela Klein
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 9:49 AM EST
The Odd Couple
In the animal world we sometimes find unusual alliances between species that ordinarily would either ignore one another or, in extreme cases, consider the other as potential food. However, every so often situations occur that turn natural enemies into the best of buddies. A puppy and kitten raised together from infancy remain inseparable for life or a mother cat is given a litter of bunnies to foster and protects them as if they were kittens. But it is less common for two adult animals of different species to become friends.
Out here at The Weyr, we have just such a situation, a peculiar pairing of two natural enemies who happily coexist in harmony. Our American water spaniel Gunner, a duck-dog bred to swim out into semi-frozen Wisconsin lakes to bring back dead ducks and geese has bonded with our male Canada goose, Burt! These two creatures sleep together, patrol the property together, make racket together, and challenge visitors together.
Bert's mate, Jezebel, seems to have been the catalyst that brought these two odd fellows together. Last spring she carried on one flirtation after another with visiting bachelor Canada geese, much to Burt's dismay. While Jezebel lured these wild birds down to her pond he honked disconsolately from the bank. She so totally ignored Burt that eventually he took to staying up by the house, leaving Jezebel to her illicit games.
None of the wild males ever stayed around long enough to form a pair bond with Jezebel and most of them would only stay a few hours, not long enough for any breeding and laying of fertile eggs. But it was enough to drive a wedge between the mated pair of birds and cause Burt to distrust Jezebel's motives...apparently forever.
Over the winter, Burt and Jezebel spent a fair amount of time together and we were hoping that reconciliation had been achieved and this season would produce a clutch of cute little goslings. They were always together on the pond, marching up and down the hill to get corn, united in harassing the runner ducks, but Burt seems to have a very long memory and is short on forgiveness.
Now that it is rapidly approaching the Canada goose mating season, Burt and Gunner are once again inseparable pals. They greet visitors with loud barking and hissing. Gunner will distract a guest from the front while Burt sneaks up behind and either pinches a leg or whacks out with his powerful wings. Burt appears to be a bitter, divorced man, devastated by the fickleness of his mate, and has sworn off all traffic with treacherous females.
This morning Jezebel was sleeping alone on the patio outside the garden room. She was right up close to the glass of the door, perched on one leg, with her head tucked tight under her wings. Burt and Gunner were raising a ruckus in front of the house, running up and down the lane, honking and barking, seemingly having a grand time, Burt oblivious to poor, lonely Jezebel.
Since Valentine's Day, these birds are rarely seen together and those meetings seem more chance than design. They will both arrive at the same time to eat some shelled corn but they are very pointedly not together. Occasionally they will both be found behind the house plucking grass or digging into the pansy containers in search of tender shoots, but again, they are not working as a couple, just happen to be in the same place at the same time.
It is not looking good for goslings this year, at least not with Burt and Jezebel as the parents. Hope is running high that one of the single Canada males will take a permanent shine to Jezebel and decide to stay here and raise a family with her. It would be a big commitment on his part as Burt and Jezebel are pinioned and cannot fly away; he would have to want to live here with her on her flightless terms.
But stranger thinks have happened. Who would expect a duck-dog and a potential duck-dog's dinner to become fast friends?
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