While driving down a rural road in Alberta, Canada last week, forester Andre Bachman came across a goose that appeared to be a little lost. The Canada goose (Branta canadensis) was initially travelling in the opposite direction to Bachman, but turned to follow his truck as he drove by. Intrigued by the unusual behaviour, Bachman stopped, and the seemingly friendly goose landed directly behind his pickup.

Displaying no inclination to fly away, Bachman decided to lead his new avian compadre to a lake approximately ten kilometres (6 miles) away. Filming the bird as it flew alongside his vehicle, Bachman reached speeds of up to 80 km/h (50mph), but the goose had no trouble keeping up.

“I would guess that because it allowed the fellow driving the truck to get very close, that it at some point in time, it must have been imprinted on human beings,” says Sid Andrews, an expert from Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. “It somehow got lost or estranged from the group and found, just by happenstance, another goose in the reflection in the bumper,” he speculated.

According to Bachman, once in the water the goose seemed content to stay put.

Header image: Daniel D'Auria