Family Of Geese Bring 401 Traffic To Grinding Halt
Posted May 13, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It started out as a normal day on the eastbound 401 near Kennedy. Cars were speeding by at about 100 km an hour. The traffic was a bit heavier than usual with it being Mother’s Day. Then around 10:30am something out of the ordinary happened, a family of Canada Geese – mother, father and two babies – attempted to cross eight hectic traffic lanes. It was chaos.
Cars swerved every which way to avoid hitting them causing other drivers to brake hard. There were some heart-stopping moments as motorists came to a screeching halt. The wandering family managed to make it half-way to the other side when they got stuck and tried to turn back. That’s when OPP stepped in and stopped traffic so that an officer with Toronto Animal Services, Pat Piercy, could gather the geese and bring them to safety. “It was remarkable. Their backs were right up against the wall. The mother didn’t know what to do,” she said.
Sadly, one of the goslings was killed after being separated from its parents during the ordeal. But, Piercy was able to rescue the other baby and even found it a new home. “I had to make a decision… I didn’t want the baby to go back into traffic. I took her to a nearby creek, found a mom with little ones, pushed her into the line and off they went.” Meanwhile, the parents circled the area for a bit but must have realized their little one was in good hands before they flew off.
Wildlife officials said it’s actually very common to see entire flocks of Canada Geese in the city at this time of year. Area resident Reeshma Jagasar said, “Canadian Geese are very dear to our hearts and I think that’s why drivers would stop.”
