Tag: Goose

They’re not ducks, but what are the birds all over at the Cognizant Classic?

Spoiler alert: they can be mean.

If you’ve watched any of the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches this week, it’s more likely than not you’ve seen dozens of birds roaming the grounds at PGA National.

They look like ducks, but then again they don’t. So what are they?

They’re Egyptian geese, and while they may seem innocent enough, they are known to attack alligators from time to time. And they’re a fixture at the Cognizant Classic as much as the fans and golfers are during tournament week.

Think they’re too cute to go after golfers? Look at this photo from 2017, when European Ryder Cup captain (and TV analyst this week) Luke Donald was running for his life.

Luke Donald is chased by an Egyptian goose on the fairway of the sixth hole during the second round of The Honda Classic at PGA National (Champion). Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Not so cute now, are they?

Nevertheless, here’s a look at photos of Egyptian geese through the years at the Cognizant (formerly Honda) Classic.

A duck (or goose?) appeared during Dodgers-Padres, delighting and confusing MLB fans at the same time

Duck, duck … goose?

A weird and exciting start to the MLB postseason just got even weirder.

While the Dodgers (-200) and Padres were locked in a tight battle during Game 2 of the National League Division Series, they had a very special fan join the proceedings.

As Los Angeles tried to rally from a 5-3 deficit in the bottom of the eighth inning with Gavin Lux at the plate, a duck (or a goose?) appeared just outside the infield. With the wild animal likely confused and in the middle of the action, play was halted for a bit as stadium officials tried to figure out what to do.

Naturally, that’s understandable, as strange situations like this rarely happen, let alone in October playoff games:

Eventually, the duck (or, again, goose?) was safely corralled by workers at the stadium:

Of course, even with the duck (or goose?) safely off the field, MLB fans still couldn’t quite make sense of what the animal actually was in the heat of the moment. Duck, duck … goose?

A goose took over the outfield during the Cubs-Diamondbacks spring training game

That new outfielder can fly.

Spring training baseball is back, which means we’re due for the latest baseball-meets-wildlife encounter.

Now, when it comes to Cactus League baseball in Arizona, those encounters often consist of a bunch of bees interrupting games. But, thankfully, Sunday’s game between the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks did not involve bees.

It did, however, feature a goose making itself at home in the outfield at Salt River Fields.

Players and coaches on both teams had their eyes focused on center field as a goose settled in on the grass behind Rafael Ortega and basically refused to leave. This goose even defended its territory against another goose.

It was quite the scene.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was impressed with how much ground that goose could cover, so there was that.

And, of course, there were jokes.

But can you really blame the goose? The weather is great in Arizona this weekend, and a big-league baseball field seems like a decently nice spot for a goose to do goose things. The goose can stay.

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