Goose Chase: Denver Uses 'Goosinator' To Scare Geese Out Of Parks

DENVER (CBS4) -- Keeping the number of geese in check round Denver city parks is a year round job. While that work does include the controversial process of culling the Parks & Recreation Department starts with a unique method known as the 'Goosinator.' Friday morning Denver residents like Robert Drewitt got a glimpse of the device in action.

"When I pulled up I saw it moving through the grass. but then I thought it was something you could buy for the kids for Christmas, but I don't know, what was that?"

The 'Goosinator' is a tool for the city to haze the geese out of the parks.

Alex Gleason who works with the natural resource division of the City's Parks Department.

"As you can see the teeth and the bright colors and the eye it mimics a natural predator that the geese might encounter in their natural environment such as a wolf or coyote," Gleason said.

Scaring the geese helps insure they don't get comfortable in the parks and instead continue their normal migratory patterns.

"They will recognize us as soon as we lift it up out of the truck bed or even driving close they'll recognize our vehicle and they'll know to fly away pretty quickly," Gleason said.

Currently the City says there are around five thousand geese who have made Denver their permanent home, and the amount of waste they leave behind is a growing issue.

In early 2019 the city added the controversial process of Culling geese – or rounding up and killing the geese, to their management plan.

RELATED: Despite Resident's Concerns, Geese Culling Likely To Continue In Denver

The city says hazing alone wasn't working.

"Most people we see are curious, a smaller amount of people that already know what we are doing and have already formed opinions," Gleason said.

The 'Goosinator' he says is one of the least intrusive ways of getting the geese to move on & for those who have seen it in action it does get the job done.

"I'm sure it would be quite effective because they move when anything comes in their area," Dewitt said.

A spokesperson for the Parks Department says a single 'Goosinator' costs anywhere from three to four thousand dollars.

The city currently has seven on hand to help with the goose populations at a number of Denver Parks.

RELATED: Denver Residents Have Mixed Reaction To Geese Population Control