Wildlife experts explain likely reason why goose landed at Dodgers-Padres game

The appearance of a goose at Wednesday night’s Dodgers-Padres game in Los Angeles led to confusion from the broadcasters, who called it a duck.

In fact, many people pointed out on social media it was a Greater White-Fronted Goose, and it may be the first time that type of bird has interrupted a Major League Baseball game.

“That was pretty gnarly there, huh?” Padres infielder Manny Machado told reporters. “He didn’t want to go anywhere. I think he was hurt when he landed, so I kind of didn’t like seeing that. I guess it was good luck for us.”

The Greater White-Fronted Goose is common to California, so it’s no surprise it would be in the vicinity of Dodger Stadium.

“The pacific population also breeds in the Arctic but are primarily found in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YK Delta) of Alaska and these birds migrate down the Western US into the Central Valley of California and as far south as Mexico,” Rice.org noted last year. “Goose surveys, conducted in California, have estimated that the Central Valley supports nearly 800,000 White-front geese from the pacific population each year.”

That’s a long trip for the birds to make, and this particular goose migrates and night and likely was confused, Los Angeles Audubon wrote on Twitter.

Many fans wanted an update and were distressed to see the bird was put in a garbage can after the groundscrew captured it.