Loosey Goosey

By Matt Wood in Miscellaneous on Aug 24, 2006 3:44PM

Look, we know we post a lot of stories about animals. Sure it can get old, but sometimes we just can't resist. Especially when we're talking about a city sponsored plan to give geese diarrhea ... on purpose.

Everybody loves having Canada geese in our parks, but if you've ever had the misfortune of walking into a patch of grass after them, you know they tend to leave behind a big green, white, and brown mess. In fact, the geese poop every seven to 10 minutes, up to two pounds a day (use that for a conversation starter at your next cocktail party). The problem is so bad in places like the lawn near the Petrillo Band Shell, that the Chicago Park District has previously considered plans to plant more obstructive trees and bushes, hang streamers from light poles to block flight paths, and even use packs of dogs to harass the birds. But now park district officials believe they have the answer: workers have sprayed 200 gallons of chemical on Butler Field that irritates the digestive system of geese, causing them to, well, run. The idea is that, much like what we've decided about eating chorizo burritos at 2 AM, the geese will decide that gnoshing at the park isn't worth the damage to their insides and stay away.

Our question is, how pleasant will the park be until all these geese with the runs get the picture?