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| Book cover courtesy Greystone Books |
Papa Goose is the first-person account of Michael Quetting, a laboratory manager at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in southern Germany, who raised seven goslings by himself, all in the name of science.
The goal of the project was to attach data loggers to the geese in order to gather a wide variety of information about flight mechanics and aerodynamics related to the geese, as well as, detailed atmospheric information.
He was chosen for the project because he is a licensed ultralight pilot.
Mr. Quetting took this assignment seriously. Not only did he turn the eggs in the incubator regularly, he talked to them and was there when they hatched. This allowed the goslings to imprint on him. He gave the goslings names: Gloria, Calimero, Nemo, Maddin, Frieda, Paula and Nils. Each gosling got a coloured leg band so Mr. Quetting could identify them.
The book is filled with Mr. Quetting’s humorous accounts of his interactions with the geese; he describes having to get used to goose droppings everywhere and how the geese loved to pull on his shoelaces. Mr. Quetting recounts how he had to adapt to each of the bird’s individual personalities. Some of the birds were outgoing and aggressive; others were shy.
Getting the geese fitted with data loggers and training them to fly beside him in his ultralight proved to be a challenge.
“Since they’ve learned to fly, I’ve been gradually losing control over them,” said Mr. Quetting. “They can now fly off any time they please and I can do nothing to stop them. I’m having a hard time getting used to that.”
But in the end, Mr. Quetting was forced to get used to that. Instinct took over and the geese found their own way in the world. Some ended up in the wild, some ended up in a leisure park and some died, but not before the scientists were able to gather sufficient information about the birds to justify the project.
Papa Goose is an enjoyable read and gives readers insight into the type of connection that is possible between humans and birds.