Goose in Des Peres Shot With Arrow, Still Hospitalized

The head of the Wildlife Rescue Center said a goose that recently was found at Des Peres Park with an arrow shot through its side was still fighting an infection the injury caused as of Tuesday.

Pam Bolton is the executive director of the Wildlife Rescue Center, which relies on volunteers and donations as well as state and federal funding. Bolton said her department received multiple calls about the goose, which visitors at Des Peres Park spotted with an arrow shot straight through its body sometime last week.

“We had sent people out several times to try to capture the goose, but it was frightened,” Bolton said. “And even with the arrow through it, it would still take off.”

The goose wasn't captured until Saturday, Bolton said, when Wildlife Rescue staff and two volunteers went to the park. That day, a woman who regularly feeds the geese—a practice not recommended by Wildlife Rescue staff—was at the park, which Bolton said helped relax the animal.

"And one of our volunteers was able to put his arms around him and capture him," Bolton said. "And even before they moved the goose to the center, they did take like a bolt-cutter and cut part of the arrow off because it was so large it couldn't fit into a large animal crate.”

Wildlife Rescue staff said that prior to it being cut, the arrow was 29" long without its tip, which had fallen off.

The arrow was successfully removed the same day the goose was captured, but the bird contracted an infection related to the injury, Bolton said. How quickly the animal is released back into the wild will depend on if and when it recovers.

“It really doesn’t matter with a goose (if it’s released) before cold weather sets in, but he does have an infection," Bolton said. "We’re flushing it out and have him on pain meds and antibiotics. It just depends on how long it takes to clear up that infection.”

Bolton said her center does not encounter animals that appear to have been intentionally injured often, but suspects that most wild animals abused locally never reach her facility.

“Things like this do happen, and that’s a big part of what we want to (prevent) when we educate people, especially children, about being compassionate,” Bolton said.

“We think it’s just as important to talk about being friendly and nice to wildlife as it is to companion animals," Bolton said. "You know most people would never do this to cats or dogs, but they feel differently about wildlife, for some reason."