Crime & Safety

Wild Goose Chase: Trooper Helps Mama, Brood Off Busy I-5 in Shoreline

With an assist from PAWS, a state trooper helped rescue a mother goose and her seven goslings from rush hour traffics Wednesday morning on Interstate 5 near 145th.

A Washington State Trooper came to the rescue of a mother goose and her seven goslings Wednesday morning, calling PAWS to help him remove them from rush hour traffic on Interstate 5 in Shoreline.

Sadly, one injured adult goose was not able to be saved. But according to a Washington State Patrol press release, mama goose and her babies were cleared from the freeway and relocated to a safe place.

Trooper J. Lauer responded to the area to help the geese off the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 in the area of 145th Street Wednesday around 9:30 a.m. Trooper says such incidents are not uncommon at this time of year.

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Lauer said the geese were less than happy to have his help and “began hissing at me.” He called the Progressive Animal Welfare Society, which quickly arrived to help.

Here is the full State Patrol press release:

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Trooper Sent to a Wild Goose Chase on Interstate 5

Once again, warm weather brought baby geese back to southbound Interstate 5 in the Shoreline area.  This time the geese were relocated to a safe location with the help of PAWS.

Yesterday morning around 9:30 a.m., a relatively common site returned to southbound Interstate 5 in the area of 145th Street.  Two adult and seven baby geese were crossing the roadway in rush hour commuter traffic causing traffic to screech to a halt.  Trooper J. Lauer responded to the area to help the geese off the roadway and noticed one adult goose had a visible injury to its wing.  Trooper Lauer said the geese were less than happy to have his help and “began hissing at me."

The geese were safely cleared from the roadway, but the injury to the goose and reality that the family would not stay out of the roadway long had Trooper Lauer making some calls for assistance.  He contacted PAWS located in Lynnwood and quickly received a positive response.  Making a trip to rescue geese is not a common occurrence for PAWS but with the safety concern for the animals and resulting traffic issues they quickly responded to the area.  Troopers and Department of Transportation vehicles slowed traffic on the roadway for the seconds needed to safely capture the geese for treatment and relocation.

Seattle area troopers will tell you that the geese family transport has been going on for years in this area.  During the early morning commute baby geese and their parents will travel down southbound Interstate 5 on the shoulder, often traveling into the roadway.  This goose “commute” is a danger to the geese and drivers in the area who are trying to avoid hitting the birds, and each other.

Sadly, the injured adult goose was not able to be saved due to its injuries but the babies and mother were relocated to a safe waterway away from the dangers of Interstate 5 by PAWS.  For additional information about the release of the geese and the PAWS organization please contact Mark Coleman at mcoleman@paws.org.

PAWS is a champion for animals—rehabilitating injured and orphaned wildlife, sheltering and adopting homeless cats and dogs, and educating people to make a better world for animals and people.  For more information about this organization visit PAWS.org


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