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Something special in his whisper
Source: unknown
July 18 2007=20
By Toby Sterling
Delft, Netherlands - A gaggle of geese runs riot in the Hof van Delft =
Park. They honk, they hiss, they harass, and - it's hard not to notice - =
they scatter droppings everywhere.
Soon, a lanky stranger comes to impose order on this chaos. He strides =
straight toward the centre of the flock, a place few would dare to =
tread, especially wearing clean shoes.
They call him "The Goose Whisperer," and he has a job to do.
Martin Hof has become a minor celebrity here, in part for his ability to =
communicate with fowl, which some say borders on the magical.
And while there's something special, and a little comical, about =
watching him at work whistling, talking, and yes, whispering to the =
birds, there's more to this than meets the eye.
At age 23, Hof has developed an unusual approach to managing urban geese =
populations that is gaining adherents in the animal-friendly Netherlands =
- the first country in the world with an animal rights party in =
parliament.
"It's all about respect for the geese," he says earnestly.
The main problem at the Hof van Delft, and most parks, is that the birds =
have been allowed to overbreed and are clashing with the humans whose =
territory they share.
But rather than culling, he finds new homes for the geese, dividing them =
along family lines to reduce the trauma of the move. On the other side =
of the equation, he works with the humans who consider the geese as =
either pets or pests.
That means discouraging feeding the animals and educating city workers =
on preventing the birds from overbreeding in the first place.
"They call them 'silly geese', but they're so smart, they learn =
everything," says the pony-tailed goose whisperer. "We teach them, we =
silly people, to break through their natural barrier whenever we come up =
to them with bread."
After one goose lunges at a passing jogger, attempting to bite his legs, =
Hof approaches the troublemaker for a little chat. To show he's a =
friend, he uses his arm to mimic a goose head bobbing up and down. Their =
conversation is too quiet to hear, but the goose appears calmed, and =
waddles off to rejoin his group.
Hof says the goose wasn't being aggressive, she was just startled that a =
stranger ran right into her personal space without warning. That hissing =
noise geese sometimes make? "Pure stress," Hof says.
Incidents become more common when geese are fed by parkgoers, Hof says. =
Eventually, children get nipped, neighbours complain and birds are =
culled.
Hof says that's wrong, and unnecessary.
To begin with, he keeps a database of a hundred or more farms or parks =
that actually want a few geese. City workers usually don't have the time =
for such niceties.
They slaughter indiscriminately, which is also cruel to the birds that =
remain, Hof says. Geese are generally monogamous, and a pair may live =
together forty years.
Partners that are suddenly split may never recover from the shock. "Some =
literally die of loneliness," Hof says.
For those sceptical about the emotional lives of geese, there's a more =
practical reason: survivors may call endlessly for missing family =
members, increasing noise problems.
After an experience saving a goose caught in a fishing net when he was =
seven years old, Hof became fascinated with the birds. Sixteen years =
later, he can usually identify families at a glance.
But he carries out various tests to be sure. He walks into the middle of =
a group, whistling, then observes their reaction.
"Just when I drove them apart, you saw that families started calling =
each other ... they say 'hup hup hup hup: Here I am! Where are you?"'
Individuals take a little longer to get to know. But at his shelter in =
the town of Coevorden where they live out their days, Hof fluidly names =
dozens by sight: Brenda, Carmen, Aida, Flago, Sunny, Pablo, Caesar ...
Hof says half his job is managing people.
Joke Fransen, walking her dog, complained vociferously about goose =
droppings.
"It's getting worse every year," she said. "Put them in a pan or make =
pate out of them, I say."
But after a few minutes speaking with Hof, she's beaming and laughing =
too. She likes the geese, just not so many, and she wholeheartedly =
prefers relocation to culling.
To make Hof's strategy work long term, city workers also have to learn =
about bird birth control.
It's not complicated: every two weeks during the late spring, a worker =
needs to check near the edges of waterways for eggs. Smearing them with =
corn oil is an effective and nonpolluting way to prevent unwanted =
goslings.
Gerard Zwart of the Amsterdam's public health agency, which has hired =
Hof's company for several projects, says the city has been so influenced =
by his thinking it plans to rename its "Vermin Control Service" to the =
"Nature Management Service."
Capturing geese for transport is "the most stressful part," Hof says. He =
kisses each on the back of the neck before loading them onto his "Royal =
Geese Carriage" that will whisk them away to a better life. - Sapa-AP
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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>Something special in his =
whisper</FONT></DIV><FONT=20
face=3DArial>
<DIV>Source: unknown<BR>July 18 2007 </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>By Toby Sterling</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Delft, Netherlands - A gaggle of geese runs riot in the Hof van =
Delft Park.=20
They honk, they hiss, they harass, and - it's hard not to notice - they =
scatter=20
droppings everywhere.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Soon, a lanky stranger comes to impose order on this chaos. He =
strides=20
straight toward the centre of the flock, a place few would dare to =
tread,=20
especially wearing clean shoes.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>They call him "The Goose Whisperer," and he has a job to do.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Martin Hof has become a minor celebrity here, in part for his =
ability to=20
communicate with fowl, which some say borders on the magical.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>And while there's something special, and a little comical, about =
watching=20
him at work whistling, talking, and yes, whispering to the birds, =
there's more=20
to this than meets the eye.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>At age 23, Hof has developed an unusual approach to managing urban =
geese=20
populations that is gaining adherents in the animal-friendly Netherlands =
- the=20
first country in the world with an animal rights party in =
parliament.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"It's all about respect for the geese," he says earnestly.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The main problem at the Hof van Delft, and most parks, is that the =
birds=20
have been allowed to overbreed and are clashing with the humans whose =
territory=20
they share.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>But rather than culling, he finds new homes for the geese, dividing =
them=20
along family lines to reduce the trauma of the move. On the other side =
of the=20
equation, he works with the humans who consider the geese as either pets =
or=20
pests.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>That means discouraging feeding the animals and educating city =
workers on=20
preventing the birds from overbreeding in the first place.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"They call them 'silly geese', but they're so smart, they learn=20
everything," says the pony-tailed goose whisperer. "We teach them, we =
silly=20
people, to break through their natural barrier whenever we come up to =
them with=20
bread."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>After one goose lunges at a passing jogger, attempting to bite his =
legs,=20
Hof approaches the troublemaker for a little chat. To show he's a =
friend, he=20
uses his arm to mimic a goose head bobbing up and down. Their =
conversation is=20
too quiet to hear, but the goose appears calmed, and waddles off to =
rejoin his=20
group.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Hof says the goose wasn't being aggressive, she was just startled =
that a=20
stranger ran right into her personal space without warning. That hissing =
noise=20
geese sometimes make? "Pure stress," Hof says.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Incidents become more common when geese are fed by parkgoers, Hof =
says.=20
Eventually, children get nipped, neighbours complain and birds are =
culled.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Hof says that's wrong, and unnecessary.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>To begin with, he keeps a database of a hundred or more farms or =
parks that=20
actually want a few geese. City workers usually don't have the time for =
such=20
niceties.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>They slaughter indiscriminately, which is also cruel to the birds =
that=20
remain, Hof says. Geese are generally monogamous, and a pair may live =
together=20
forty years.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Partners that are suddenly split may never recover from the shock. =
"Some=20
literally die of loneliness," Hof says.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>For those sceptical about the emotional lives of geese, there's a =
more=20
practical reason: survivors may call endlessly for missing family =
members,=20
increasing noise problems.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>After an experience saving a goose caught in a fishing net when he =
was=20
seven years old, Hof became fascinated with the birds. Sixteen years =
later, he=20
can usually identify families at a glance.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>But he carries out various tests to be sure. He walks into the =
middle of a=20
group, whistling, then observes their reaction.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"Just when I drove them apart, you saw that families started =
calling each=20
other ... they say 'hup hup hup hup: Here I am! Where are you?"'</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Individuals take a little longer to get to know. But at his shelter =
in the=20
town of Coevorden where they live out their days, Hof fluidly names =
dozens by=20
sight: Brenda, Carmen, Aida, Flago, Sunny, Pablo, Caesar ...</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Hof says half his job is managing people.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Joke Fransen, walking her dog, complained vociferously about goose=20
droppings.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"It's getting worse every year," she said. "Put them in a pan or =
make pate=20
out of them, I say."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>But after a few minutes speaking with Hof, she's beaming and =
laughing too.=20
She likes the geese, just not so many, and she wholeheartedly prefers =
relocation=20
to culling.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>To make Hof's strategy work long term, city workers also have to =
learn=20
about bird birth control.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>It's not complicated: every two weeks during the late spring, a =
worker=20
needs to check near the edges of waterways for eggs. Smearing them with =
corn oil=20
is an effective and nonpolluting way to prevent unwanted goslings.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Gerard Zwart of the Amsterdam's public health agency, which has =
hired Hof's=20
company for several projects, says the city has been so influenced by =
his=20
thinking it plans to rename its "Vermin Control Service" to the "Nature=20
Management Service."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Capturing geese for transport is "the most stressful part," Hof =
says. He=20
kisses each on the back of the neck before loading them onto his "Royal =
Geese=20
Carriage" that will whisk them away to a better life. - Sapa-AP</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>
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