Wildlife management plan

The University of Manitoba is home to many diverse wildlife habitats. Depending on the season, geese, deer, foxes, raccoons, and many more of nature’s critters can be seen on campus grounds. To promote safe cohabitation between the university community and wildlife, a Wildlife Management Plan inclusive of all wildlife on campus was developed in consultation with industry experts both internal and external to the university.

In addition to the Wildlife Management Plan, the University of Manitoba has formed a Goose Education and Awareness Committee. The committee consists of interested stakeholders from within the university, with input from Manitoba Conservation and Environment Canada. Read about our current goose education and awareness strategy on this page.

On this page:

 

Goose education and awareness plan overview

The Goose Education and Awareness Committee is dedicated to providing tools and resources to the university community about our native goose population. Just like humans, they too want to enjoy our grounds in the spring. With proper education and awareness, we can coexist safely in our environment without incident.

To prepare for nesting season, Physical Plant is continually looking for well-known nesting areas, such as above-ground planters; these spaces will be covered with mesh wire to promote nesting in less high traffic locations. Where installing mesh wire is not feasible, areas are being treated with coyote urine, simulating predator-prey type interactions geese may encounter in less metropolitan areas, causing them to choose new nesting locations.

Once a nest is successfully established, Physical Plant will install signage nearby to alert pedestrian traffic to the proximity of a nesting goose. This signage is for the pedestrian’s safety as much as it is for the nesting female and her mate; it is important that both groups are not intimidated by one another’s presence. Therefore, if you see signage, please consider an alternate path.

Once the goslings have hatched, to help welcome them into the world, Physical Plant will provide safe access off rooftops.

During the course of their migration, the geese spend a significant amount of time on our campus grounds. If at any point in time you feel the need to report a goose-related problem, please contact Physical Plant by e-mail ppwod@umanitoba.ca or phone at 204-474-6281.

Report a goose

The university’s geese population is an integral part of our framework during the spring. To ensure the efficacy of the Goose Education and Awareness Plan, we require input from the university community to ensure appropriate measures are taken to communicate and act on goose related information.

Examples of goose-related items to report include, but are not limited to:

  • Aggressive geese
  • Near misses/incidents with geese
  • Geese nesting near high-traffic areas
  • Geese nesting on rooftops
  • Injured geese

You can report goose related items by e-mail to ppwod@umanitoba.ca or by phone 204-474-6281. All information is received by Physical Plant and acted on in accordance with the Goose Education and Awareness Plan.

Living with geese

For more tips and tricks regarding geese, their behaviors, and how to cohabitate successfully with them on campus, please read the following articles: