aleutian_goose

Columbia Basin Waterfowl
Waterfowl Guide Service and Video Productions

                The Aleutian Canada Goose

The Aleutian Canada goose is one of five subspecies of the familiar white-cheeked Canada
geese that inhabit Alaska. It is distinguished by its smaller size, abrupt forehead with
short bill, and usually by a pronounced ring of white feathers around the base of the neck.

The Aleutian Canada Goose is thought to have historically nested on maritime islands
from the Alaska Peninsula, westward along the Aleutian Chain, to the Commander and
Kuril islands of Asia. The geese nest on treeless islands in areas densely vegetated by
grasses, sedges, and ferns, often where there is no source of fresh water.

Populations are said to have wintered from British
Columbia to northern Mexico, and in Japan. The
geese currently use pastures and grain fields along
the coasts of Oregon and northern California, and
in California's Central Valley. It is presumed that
the geese migrate between the Aleutian Islands and
wintering grounds in Oregon and California by
flying non-stop over the North Pacific Ocean, a distance of nearly 2,000 miles.

The Aleutian Canada goose declined early in this century following the introduction of
arctic foxes for fur farming to most of their nesting islands. The ground-nesting geese had
no natural defenses against these imported predators, and fewer than 800 geese survived
on only three islands in the Aleutian and Semidi islands where foxes were never
introduced. These geese were listed as endangered in 1967.

                                                               Since the formal recovery program
                                                                began in mid-1970s, a main recovery
                                                                objective has been to reestablish
                                                                Aleutian Canada geese on their former
                                                                nesting islands. Geese have been
                                                                captured at Buldir Island in the western
                                                                Aleutians and moved to other islands
                                                                 following the eradication of introduced
                                                                foxes.

On the wintering grounds, the population is monitored by biologists who record
sightings of banded geese, analyze habitat characteristics, and estimate the population size.
Sport hunting for Aleutian Canada geese is prohibited, and areas traditionally used by
this subspecies have been closed to the hunting of all Canada geese to prevent loss
through misidentification by hunters.

By 1990, the Aleutian Canada Goose population had recovered sufficiently to be
reclassified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from endangered" to the less-critical
"threatened" status. In recognition of their recovery, the state of Alaska downlisted this
species from endangered to a species of special concern. Today the population numbers
approximately 15,000 birds, which nest on eight islands.