They say no good deed goes unpunished.
That’s the lesson a man in Sherwood park likely learned this week when he unwittingly entered into a game of duck, duck, goose with a real pro — an actual goose.
On Tuesday afternoon, Salena Messal and her husband, Ian, were on their way to get groceries in Sherwood Park when they came across a traffic snarl on Broadmoor Blvd.
The man tried to help after this gosling struggled to make it up the curb. (Salena Messal)
“The traffic was kind of backed up, for some reason, but we didn’t really know why,” said Messal.
Turns out a family of geese was responsible.
“I can’t remember how many geese there were, but I know there was a mama and dada,” said Messal. “They were trying to get across the street.”
The goslings were struggling to get up the curb. So a man in another vehicle got out to help.
One goose got into a flap with the helpful human. (Salena Messal)
CBC News hasn’t identified or spoken to the man but Messal captured what happened next on video.“They were just trying to get to the other side and this man was helping them get across,” she said.
The situation flew south from there, when one of the geese got in a flap because the man was too close.
“I just started recording because I was like, ‘You don’t see that every day,’ ” said Messal. “I’m not sure which, mom or dad, but they were not happy.”
The gosling finally mounted the curb after a little encouragement from a parent. (Salena Messal)
The attack was swift and the man was unprepared.
“The goose was trying to peck at him, I guess. And then he (the man) fell down a couple of times.”
Messal said she felt sorry for him but also saw the humour in the situation.
“I was just, ‘Oh, you poor guy.’ But it was pretty funny to watch.”
Messal doesn’t believe the man was injured. But she said she had no idea that geese could behave like that. The experience has left her wary.
“I don’t think I would ever approach them.”
Salena and Ian Messal caught the dramatic goose attack on video. (Salena Messal)