Canada goose returns to man who raised her

He calls her Lucy Goosey.

Two summers ago, 73-year-old Wilf Jansen found an orphaned gosling on his 60-acre Wolfe Island property.

The female Canada goose soon made herself at home, following Jansen's chickens around the property as though she belonged. Jansen adopted the bird and let her stay with the chickens over the winter.

Last summer, a gander (male goose) joined her. Soon the two birds were raising three little goslings of their own.

As temperatures dropped, Lucy left with her gander for a warmer climate.

"She abandoned me for another gander," Jansen told the Whig-Standard.

She didn't stay away.

"Then two weeks ago four or five geese landed inside the chicken run."

Jansen said one of the geese waddled up to him.

"I knew it was her again."

Jansen says Lucy is often followed around by a gander, most likely the same one from last summer. And while he considers that gander "wild," he has an almost pet/owner relationship with Lucy, who follows him about his chores and even lets him touch her when no one is around.

"She's a bit on the shy side."

Jansen hopes to see more goslings soon. He says his fenced-in pond will keep predator foxes at bay.

For now, Lucy's loyalty appears to lie with her kind adopted caregiver; she looks for her gander only when Jansen is unavailable.

(Photo credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)