LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Ruth Stucki has lived in Las Vegas almost her entire life. Most of that time in the northwest near Floyd Lamb Park.
The hobbyist photographer says she knows a thing or two about the area. One thing for sure, the geese population in the area has increased year after year. This year has brought the most geese she has ever seen.
In the beginning of May, residents started complaining about the geese fleeing the park, coming into residential areas in herds, trying to find another place to settle. Signs of the cause pointed toward the new GooseBuster installed at the park.
"To have them in mass do that, that’s crazy," Stucki said.
Concern for the geese grew, especially for the young goslings that could not fly yet. Many people reached out to the city to demand the GooseBuster get taken down.
On the other side, City Councilwoman Michele Fiore said she was unaware of the GooseBuster and ordered it to be taken down immediately. The City of Las Vegas however were the ones who installed the device, but haven’t turned it on.
They said in a statement that the device was installed to direct geese away from the grassy areas where people gather to the water in order to limit the amount of goose poop that carries diseases.
"Was it the GooseBuster, or was it not. When I spoke to the ornithologist on Saturday he said a lot of things could have caused that. They are pack animals. One of them gets upset about something and it sounds the alarm and they run. Now they’re back. Nextdoor was lit up with it," Stucki said.
The city also stated that maybe people were confused by the noises the bullhead frog makes, who live in the area.
The city will continue to monitor the wildlife at the park, but has not activated the audio system and does not plan to use it at this time. The audio system will be removed from the park.
The cause of the geese fleeing is still unknown.
