Saturday, April 23, 2022

China is using an army of geese to defend its border with Vietnam

NatGeo (which goes into the history of using geese as guards):

Since October 2021, the Chinese government has deployed this so-called “geese army” across 300 miles of China’s Chongzuo Prefecture in an effort to stop the coronavirus from entering China via illegal immigration. Chinese domestic geese need no training; once they establish their territory, the five-pound birds defend it fiercely.

Reinforcing this feathered garrison are about 400 mixed-breed guard dogs, which accompany border police on patrol while the birds keep stationary watch. 

...

guard geese may be helping: In December 2021, a goose allegedly honked the alarm to help catch two people illegally crossing the border

...

“Dogs can sound the alarm sometimes just for fun or to talk together from dog to dog. But geese will only do so if there’s an intruder that goes into their special area”

...

“Could we train a goose? Probably, but that would be very hard”