“We have some really strange calls, but this was a first for us.”
A man was outside his apartment complex in Atlanta, Georgia, when he noticed a goose walking in a rather unusual way. Something seemed to be stuck to one of her feet, and when he moved closer to investigate, he could hardly believe what he was seeing.
The goose had a freshwater mussel attached to her foot.
Unsure how such a strange thing could have happened, the man contacted Georgia Wildlife Network for help. He did his best to explain the unusual situation, but even the rescue team needed a little more convincing.
“We have some really strange calls, but this was a first for us,” Heather Thomas, executive director of Georgia Wildlife Network, told The Dodo.
Wanting to make sure they understood correctly, the rescuers asked the man to send them a photograph. When the picture arrived, they were just as surprised as he had been.
What he had described as a clam was actually a freshwater mussel — and the team had never encountered anything quite like it.
Despite handling thousands of wildlife cases, the rescuers had no experience with a mussel hitching a ride on a goose’s foot. They knew they needed to get someone out there to check on the unusual pair.
They quickly contacted their rescue partner, Brandon Sanders of Sanders Wildlife, and sent him to the apartment complex.
When Sanders arrived, he located the goose and slowly began approaching her. He wanted to get close enough to help without frightening the bird, but the goose soon became nervous.
She tried to fly away.
And then, in a surprising turn of events, the mussel simply fell off her foot.
Just like that, the bizarre problem appeared to have solved itself.
Sanders checked on both the goose and the mussel, and thankfully, neither seemed to have suffered any lasting harm. After all the confusion and concern, both were doing just fine.
For everyone involved, it was an encounter they weren’t likely to forget anytime soon.
“We’ve never seen another situation like it,” Thomas said. “We handled over 20k cases this year alone, and we have never had another rescue involving a clam or mussel.”
It’s easy to imagine how strange that first phone call must have sounded. A goose with a freshwater mussel stuck to her foot seems like the kind of story someone might invent as a joke.
But the man wasn’t joking. The unusual situation was real, and his decision to call for help ensured that someone checked on the animals.
In the end, the goose was free to go about her day, and the mussel was safe, too. The rescuers were left with an unforgettable story — proof that when it comes to wildlife, even experienced professionals can encounter something they’ve never seen before.