From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Maria (goose)
Maria (goose)
Maria is a male[1] Greylag Goose (Anser anser), formerly received over 4 million views on YouTube,[4] the band
living in Echo Park, Los Angeles who became the subject having decided to feature Maria prominently in the video
of news reports in 2011 after forming an unusual associa- after he bit guitarist Andy Ross during filming at the
tion with a local resident, named Dominic Ehrler. park.[2]
Maria, named by locals and assumed to be female, was
familiar to users of the park for several years as a goose
which preferred the company of humans to that of his
References
own species, often pecking at homeless people or follow- [1] ^ Hartman, Steve. "Man-goose bond (and gender)
ing walkers and runners around.[2] put to the test". CBS Evening News.
Ehrler, a retired salesman, first encountered Maria at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/28/
Echo Park lake in the summer of 2010 when the bird be- eveningnews/
gan to following him on his daily walks around the lake, main20048035.shtml?tag=cbsnewsTwoColUpperPromoArea.
readily accepting food from him and soon becoming so Retrieved 3 April 2011.
attached that he would wait beside the road every morn- [2] ^ Berzon, Alexandra (12 February 2011). "’Maria,
ing for Ehrler to arrive at the park. Maria would walk Maria, I’ve Just Met A Goose Named Maria...’". The
alongside and possessively ’protect’ Ehrler from other Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/
park users and their dogs and would also attempt to fol- SB10001424052748704364004576131951279369920.html.
low him from the park, flying closely behind him as he Retrieved 4 April 2011.
rode away on his scooter, necessitating attempts to dis- [3] Pool, Bob. "A match of man and goose". Los
tract the goose, or lock him behind a fence when leaving, Angeles Times. http://www.kwch.com/news/la-
to avoid being followed all the way home.[3] [4] [5] me-scooter-goose-20110213,0,3071900.story.
Maria, along with the other geese present at Echo Retrieved 3 April 2011.
Park were temporarily relocated to Los Angeles Zoo in [4] ^ "Goose waits everyday for LA Man". Eyewitness
April 2011 and placed into quarantine, as the park un- News 9. http://www2.wnct.com/news/2011/apr/
dergoes restoration and the lake is drained. It was at this 03/1/goose-waits-everyday-for-la-
time that veterinarians at the zoo discovered that Maria man-96749-vi-30934/.
was in fact a male goose.[4] Zoo officials have stated their [5] Hernandez, Lisa. "Man explains love for a goose in
plans to house Maria at a children’s zoo,[1] though it has Echo Park". KABC-TV Los Angeles, CA.
also been suggested that the Echo Park geese will be re- http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/
located to another lake. Ehrler continues to visit Maria bizarre&id=7958541. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
at the zoo and has stated his intention to maintain the
friendship and follow him to his new home,[4] also rais-
ing the possibility of moving to Oregon with the goose.[2]
External links
Maria has also appeared in the 2010 music video for • OK Go - End Love - Official Video, featuring Maria on
the song "End Love" by the rock band OK Go, which has YouTube
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maria_(goose)&oldid=467696780"
Categories:
• Individual waterfowl
• Geese
• Human-animal relationships
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