Managing Nuisance Egyptian Geese (Alopochen aegyptiaca) on Golf Courses in Cape Town, South Africa

Egyptian Geese (Alopochen aegyptiaca) are indigenous to South Africa and their numbers have increased in the Western Cape province of South Africa during the past 40 years due to an increase in the number of farm dams, the expansion of agricultural crops and the introduction of large areas of urban green space (Davies & Allan, 2005). These increases have had negative impacts on crops in rural areas (Mangnall & Crowe, 2001, 2002) and the fouling of gardens and golfing greens with goose faeces is a common complaint in urban landscapes (Little & Sutton, 2013). Public and private gardens, golf courses and sports fields meet the habitat requirements of Egyptian Geese (MacKay, Little, Amar & Hockey, 2014; Fox & Hockey, 2007), attracting large aggregations particularly during the non-breeding season (Little & Sutton, 2013). Golf courses are particularly attractive gathering areas for the geese because large expanses of irrigated grazing lawns are interspersed with artificial water bodies and predators are largely absent. Control measures previously used by golf course managers in the Western Cape province have included displaying imitation owls, chasing the geese with dogs and motor vehicles, culling by shooting, destroying eggs and nests, and relocating geese (Little & Sutton, 2013). Passive harassment measures with no real threat to the survival of the geese were generally least effective in the long term. Culling or relocating the geese and chasing the geese with dogs were considered the most successful long-term control measures (Cunningham & Hockey, 2010). However, public opposition to culling in urban areas exerted pressure on managers to consider non-lethal alternatives. Research funders increasingly encourage the involvement of science communication and science engagement activities related to funded projects and expect research outputs to include impacts which are adopted by civil society. During 2012–2015 staff and students at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, South Africa, investigated the perceived problem of geese on golf courses in Cape Town (Little & Sutton, 2013), assessed management options to alter the golf course habitats (Mackay et al., 2014), experimentally tested altering the landscape of fear using trained raptors (Atkins, Little & Amar, 2017) and observed related changes in the vigilance behaviour of the geese (Atkins, Little, Redpath & Amar, 2019). The aim of these four research projects was to understand the factors underlying the nuisance phenomenon of the geese on golf courses and to offer effective ways to resolve the negative impacts. The findings of these projects are synthesized here as a localized case study synthesis and considered to give a coherent account of the testing of approaches to resolve the issue and to present a concise set of recommended options to manage Egyptian Goose numbers and spatial distribution on golf courses. The ultimate aims of this study are to gather and consider golf course management responses four years later to evaluate the willingness to address the perceived problem and to understand any resistance to resolving the issue. This was done to assess any wildlife management conflict which can occur when two or more parties with strongly held opinions clash over conservation objectives and when one party is perceived to assert its interests at the expense of another which recognizes that wildlife management conflicts occur fundamentally between humans (Redpath et al., 2013). This study is not a broad-scale review of the implementation of nuisance Egyptian Goose control throughout South Africa. It is rather a disclosure of a real localized conservation biology approach with regard to the challenges of African urban bird management and conservation.