Image of Aleutian Cackling Goose

Description:

Most people consider the Aleutian Cackling Goose the most handsome of the Canada/Cackling Goose complex, but this bird was brought to the brink of extinction when foxes were introduced to the several breeding islands that supported the world's population. By the late 1960s, only a few hundred birds were left. A recovery program was implemented, removing the introduced foxes from these islands, re-introductions, and closing hunting of all small white-cheeked geese in the Pacific flyway. My husband was a member of the monitoring team during these early years, following the small flock of geese from their fall arrival in Crescent City, CA to Colusa and Modesto, CA where he entire population wintered. Without this protection, a single detrimental event could have wiped them out forever. The recovery program has been very successful and they have been delisted. The current population is over 100,000 birds.