It’s not ideal when an animal from the outside world accidentally drops into a zoo exhibit.
Though it might seem like a rare occurrence, it actually happens more often than you think. Deer have been brutally taken down inside lion dens before, and some children got a crash course lesson on nature being brutal when a bear ate up a family of ducklings that were swimming around inside its exhibit.
In this particular situation that recently played out at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio, things were looking pretty bleak for a goose that had landed inside the tiger enclosure. There’s an instinctive, eternal battle between cats and birds, and this situation was no different. When the goose touched down in the exhibit and the big cat caught wind of it, it was as if your pet feline had just spotted a songbird outside the window.
You would think that the tiger would be able to make short work of the decent sized bird, especially since it probably doesn’t get many opportunities to hunt like this. However, things didn’t go according to plan for the big cat, who was actually being intimidated by the goose’s honking and wing flapping.
Anyone who has come face to beak with a goose knows that they are nasty, mean, vial creatures.
The tiger at the Columbus Zoo got a crash course on that, even as its curiosity (classic cat fault) led it continually investigate the bird. But as the big cat advanced closer and closer, the goose never ceased in asserting its dominance. In sports terms, this was a classic underdog matchup, and the underdog was whopping the heavy favorite’s ass.
As you’ll see in the clip, the tiger thought it was going to have an easy meal at one point, but the goose showcased its wings of fury, which sent the big cat retreating. The good news? There were a ton of kids there to witness this showdown, and knowing that, it’s probably best that the goose came out on top.
The TikTok, which has been viewed almost 5 million times, had this as the caption:
“Took the kids to the zoo and this is what they got to see today… Tiger vs. Goose.”
@jnorm2532 Took the kids to the zoo and this is what they got to see today. Tiger Vs Goose (Goose Won)#twindad #animals #goose #tiger @Ally normoyle ♬ original sound – Jonathan Normoyle
Shoutout to that goose… it never backed down.
As for the tiger, it’s clear the big cat is – at the very least – lightly domesticated (just like how I like my beers). I’d like to see a tiger that lives life out in the wild get bested by a goose. That being said, people in the comments sympathized with the big cat, saying that there might not be a more vicious creature on God’s green Earth worse than the goose:
“To everyone that’s ever been chased by a goose. The tiger ran too, so don’t feel bad.”
“I fully thought I was about to witness a murder. I’m glad the tiger got away unharmed!”
“Mind you the goose can just leave whenever it wants, it CHOSE to stay and bully the poor kitty”
“Goose said, ‘I’m not trapped in here with you… You’re trapped in here with me!'”
“I ain’t never seen a tiger get punked out by a goose.”
“Life lesson here… just because the odds are against you, it doesn’t mean you can’t fight like hell and change those odds. Tiger survived against the immense odds.”
