He committed a fowl.
A hunter in the Canadian Arctic caused a stir among a group of student “goose detectives” after he shot and ate one of the birds they had been tracking from over 3,500 miles away.
Devon Manik, an Inuit hunter, unknowingly made a meal of a goose that had been tagged by students in Dungarvan, Ireland as part of a school project. The students, working with scientists from the University of Exeter, were monitoring the migration patterns of brent geese, which travel between Ireland and the Arctic. According to The Irish Times, Manik shot the goose, not knowing that it was part of the students’ research project.
Manik explained that the geese migrate to his region in June to lay eggs, and the birds provide a crucial meal for his family, especially his mother and grandmother, who “really love geese.”
“The reason why we hunt today is because it’s so expensive to live up here [in Arctic Canada]. Without hunting, all of the food has to be shipped in. We hunt the geese subsistently as they are passing by,” Manik said.
The students at St. Mary’s Primary School for Girls in Ireland had tagged around 100 geese to track their migration. Manik discovered one of these tags after he had shot the bird. Despite the shock of the students upon learning of the bird’s fate, they confirmed that many of the geese still made it back home to Ireland.
“The Arctic is a place way out there,” said Anne Quinn, the students’ former teacher. “This, in a strange way, was proof they made this incredible journey … it shows how much we’re connected; geographically, culturally.”
Ecologist Kendrew Coulhoun, who had worked with the students, expressed no hard feelings after meeting with Manik.
“There’s a little bit of sadness because obviously they are very highly protected in Ireland, and we love them, but at the same time, we totally appreciate that the local communities here don’t have access to supermarkets,” Coulhoun explained. “These communities definitely need to do such a thing, so who are we to judge that?”
