29-03-2025
Fowl play: Goose attacks 6-year-old visiting Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — They're a part of life in Wichita. Geese populate the river and parks, walk the streets and block traffic, on occasion. It was an unfortunate combination of factors that led to Heather Ashworth and her daughter Parham becoming victims of Wichita's geese population's natural instincts.
'[It] literally flew in the sky out of nowhere,' Heather Ashworth said.
From North Carolina, she and her daughter visited town for the NCAA tournament. While walking back from their hotel near Waterman and Main, the mother and daughter were blindsided by a goose.
'There was two geeses and I fell when they smashed me, then they smacked me again and I ran down the hill,' six-year-old Parham Ashworth said.
She received no serious injuries but walked away from the experience with a black eye. A researcher with Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) says this is likely due to timing.
'This time of year, they're forming pair bonds. The male and female are getting together and are starting to get ready for nesting, so they get a little bit territorial around their nesting,' Dr. Jon Beckmann, Assistant Director of Wildlife Research for KDWP, said.
Geese's mating season lasts roughly from February to late April, so the NCAA tournament came right in the middle.
'If they feel like people have invaded their space too close, then they'll get a little more aggressive toward people this time of year,' Dr. Beckmann said.
He expects the Geese's aggressiveness to decline in the coming month. But for Heather and Parham, they took their experience back to North Carolina.
Dr. Beckmann reminds people that although they live throughout the city, geese are still wild animals, so give them their space.
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