A wild goose entered a tiger's enclosure at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio and engaged in a face-off with the big cat before flying off.
Video footage captured by a visitor shows the goose and the big cat, a 7-year-old female Amur tiger named Vera, engaged in an intense face-off during which the bird managed to ward off the predator. It first made the tiger chase it around the enclosure and once the cat got close, it frantically started flapping its wings at the tiger, scaring her away.
"Took the kids to the zoo and got to the tiger exhibit and saw the goose in there," the person who captured the video said. "After watching what I thought was going to be an easy lunch for the tiger, the goose had different plans."
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium spokesperson Jen Fields told USA TODAY April 24 that it is not unusual for native wildlife to occasionally enter the animal enclosures at the zoo given the facility's "open-air habitat designs, readily available food, and lush, naturalistic environments."
"This includes species such as birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and others," Fields said. "While these visits are typically harmless and reflect a healthy local ecosystem, we take the health and safety of all animals-both native wildlife and those in our care-very seriously."
Fields explained the zoo has several proactive measures and strict protocols in place to ensure the animals' well-being and health and to manage interactions between them and the native species. These include regular vaccinations, temporarily bringing certain susceptible animals indoors as a preventative measure, patching potential entry points, humane trapping, and using trained herding dogs to help deter Canada geese from animal and guest areas.
In cases when native wildlife does enter an animal habitat, though infrequent, the zoo's "animal care team uses trained emergency recall techniques to call the animals in our care into their indoor spaces."
"This behavior is taught through positive reinforcement and is practiced regularly to ensure animals respond quickly and reliably-even in the presence of high-value motivators like food, enrichment items, or native wildlife visitors," Fields explained. "Once the animals are safely indoors, the team can assess the situation and, when appropriate, safely retrieve and release the native wildlife."
In the case of the goose and tiger, the goose managed to escape the tiger and the zoo's animal care team found no signs of the bird in the tiger's enclosure.
"It seems the goose made a lucky escape and flew off to tell the tale," Fields said.
However, not all animals are that lucky. Earlier, this this year, one of the zoo's brown bears caught a duck, which serves as a reminder "that all animals, whether native or under professional care, act according to their natural instincts," Fields said.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.