Guarding barnacle geese and visiting humans

A male barnacle goose, guarding their nest, takes this task extremely calmly. The guard, fallen asleep, stands firmly on one leg, leaning their head on their back doing duty for a pillow. Without a gesture that could be assumed as a request to keep a distance, they let themselves be passed close by. The brooding parent is silently lying in the nest behind a brushwood fence built for their shelter by humans.

A group of daycare children stops to look at the relaxed guard. An adult urges the children to imitate the goose's position, and soon there is a merry row of children tottering on one leg in front of the guard. The goose is not fazed at all but continues their rest. After balancing for a while, the group of children moves on.

A couple of turns later, there’s another male guarding their nest by the walkway. This one takes their task in a totally different manner. As I still have little experience in encountering geese, an approaching gander, fiercely hissing and their neck stretched out, gets my heart racing and makes me want to run away. Eventhough in theory I know how a male goose guarding their nest should be encountered, I forget everything I’ve learned when the goose is approaching.

Luckily, the zoo’s goose guide is nearby and comes to my help. Using a combination of three gestures: determined walking towards, pointing one’s hand and calmly talking to the goose, the guide gently directs the goose back to their post. The two of them seem to have a good reciprocal relationship and an agreement on some level about how to fit together the vital task of guarding a nest and humans' preference for a certain route.