GEORGE NEWS - A baby Egyptian goose that fell out of a tree last October has not only survived this rather harsh entrance into the world, but also a serious injury that cost her her right wing.
Ptolemy, as she has been named (her gender is only a guess at this stage), was the only one of four babies that survived a fall from a nest high up in a palm tree on a smallholding in Blanco, co-owned by Allan Oates.
The palm stands near a dam at which a small group of Chinese geese, kept by Oates, sleep every night. This is where Ptolemy has claimed her place and cheekily waddles around in a circle that has readily adopted her.
"Distinguishing gender in Egyptian geese is more difficult than in Chinese geese, where the traits are more pronounced, but we think Ptolemy is a female because her tail plumage is not standing up," says Oates.
She overcame another setback after starting to fly in February. Early in March, she was badly injured when she flew into a wire fence and her wing got stuck. She was taken to the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) where it was amputated.
"The injury was such that the bone was sticking out through the skin and the vet feared that infection could set in if they tried to fix the wing."
Ptolemy (the small goose closest to the water) has a nibble with the group that adopted her.
After Ptolemy spent some time in a smallish cage back home and completed a course of medication, she was released again.
In the beginning she struggled to run or swim in a straight line, but she has adapted well and is moving around without any trouble.
When Oates comes with a bucket of food for the geese in the late afternoon, Ptolemy runs as fast as the rest, making sure she gets her share of nibbles. Then she is one of the first into the dam, ready for a swim and a splash.
VIDEO: Watch a video of Ptolemy during feeding time.
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