ANACORTES — Elvis has left the terminal.
Terminally.
Pretty much everyone agreed that the troublesome Canada goose that had adopted the Anacortes state ferry terminal as a home had to go. But when U.S. Department of Agriculture agents shot the bird to death, then packed it in a plastic bag, ferry workers cried foul.
“I really feel those two men owe us an apology,” Lori Cabel, who works for the ferry system, told the Skagit Valley Herald. “They were really cruel in the way they just shoved him in a bag and walked away.”
The newspaper said the bird nicknamed by ferry workers returned months ago to resume camping at the terminal about 50 miles northwest of Everett, sleeping under the passenger causeway and honking near the loudspeaker. This was the second year Elvis had wintered at the terminal, but this time he wore out his welcome when he nipped at people and attacked a ferry worker.
Canada geese are frequently a problem in urban areas, often being aggressive, chewing up lawns, and leaving prodigious amounts of waste behind.
When Elvis got to be too much of a handful, Washington State Ferries officials called the USDA for help in dealing with him and another goose. Ferry workers say they were told Elvis would be relocated.
Agents tried to scare the birds away with loud noises and paintballs, but Elvis wouldn’t budge, said Lyndsay Cole, a USDA spokeswoman.
On May 1, ferry workers say Elvis was shot in front of them.
Rebecca Wiggins, a worker who heard the gunshot and saw Elvis collapse, said she asked an agent about the goose’s condition. She said he replied, “He looks like he’s dead to me.”
Wiggins told the newspaper the agent then stuffed the dead bird in a black plastic bag.
“Because people in general were feeding these geese, they weren’t scared,” Cole said. “Killing them was the only option.”
Cole said Elvis’ situation isn’t unique.
“Everyone likes to enjoy wildlife, but if everyone feeds them, it can cause problems like this where they begin to become hostile,” Cole said.
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