An Egyptian goose found entangled in plastic near the Buffalo River has been successfully rehabilitated by the East London Aquarium and was released on Friday morning.
The goose was seen struggling on Tuesday and was eventually caught by SAPS port of entry officers after it walked into their water wing in a distressed state the following day.
“We saw him walking around on Tuesday with plastic around his neck and stuck in his beak; we tried to catch him but with no luck.
“The next day I had left the side door open and it just walked into our offices,” said Warrant Officer, Dean Velde.
“I think its energy levels over the two days just dropped so with three of us it was pretty easy to catch him.”
EL Aquarium superintendent, Steven Rheeder said the bird was a semi-adult male and that this type of goose was commonly found near waterways in the Eastern Cape.
“Egyptian geese are very common in this area and there are quite a few near Ebuhlanti as well,” said Rheeder, who added that if it was not for Velde and the other officers, the bird would have starved to death...