Goose chase ends in Eskimo’s fridge

BRITISH wildlife experts were yesterday mourning the loss of Kerry the goose after tracking him by satellite all the way from Ireland to an Eskimo’s kitchen in Arctic Canada.

Kerry had safely completed the arduous 4,500 mile journey only to be shot by a man out hunting

He was found by researchers who tracked the beeps from a transmitter on Kerry’s back to the Eskimo’s home on remote Cornwallis Island.

After knocking on the door they were led to his freezer where Kerry lay still wearing his £3,000 electronic tracker.

Kerry was one of six Irish Light-Bellied Brent Geese being followed on their migration routes by the British-based Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.

Senior research officer Dr James Robinson said: “We have some Canadian colleagues in an area called Resolute Bay on Cornwallis Island who have a small receiver which can pick up the birds’ signals.

“Hearing that the last place Kerry was known to be was Cornwallis Island, they decided to see if they could find him.

“They looked in all the fjords and lakes where Brent Geese go, but had no success at all. Then as they were walking back into town, their receiver started beeping more strongly.

“They tracked the beeps to a house, knocked on the door, and discovered that the guy who lived there had shot Kerry on another island called Bathurst Island.

“Kerry was in the hunter’s freezer. He hadn’t been plucked and the transponder was still on him. The hunter was somewhat surprised _ he didn’t know what the device on the goose’s back was. He was a bit reluctant to co-operate to start with, but when the project was explained to him he was happy to help.

Of the other six Irish Light-Bellied Brent Geese fitted with transponders in May, one called Arnthor is also believed to have been shot.

Bleeps from Arnthor stopped abruptly over Disko Island on the west coast of Greenland, where hunting is illegal in spring but known to take place.

A third goose, Oscar, died in Iceland, where his body was found on a small island. Researchers think he may have been killed by a bird of prey.

Three other birds still survive on islands off the Arctic coast of Canada. Austin is on the western tip of Ellesmere Island, Hugh was last heard of on Amund Ringnes Island and a bird called Major Ruttledge is believed to be on Graham Island.