Heart of New Mexico: Two Los Alamos geese find love

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. – At Ashley Pond in Los Alamos, two watermelon-loving geese are the teachers.

“They were love at first sight, I believe,” said Robert Cantu. 

This present-day pair is still getting to know each other.

“Ed is quite stubborn,” said Theresa Phelan. 

Theresa Phelan has closely watched this pond for the past decade. She says “Ed” used to be known as “Edna.”

“When we picked up, Edna we got her assessed by a vet and found out she was Ed,” said Phelan. 

A few months ago, Ed was all alone.

“Since his mate passed away he got really depressed, kind of moping around. Not as active around the pond. And then he went up to the building behind us and found his reflection in the mirror, or in the window, and really kind of bonded with his reflection,” Phelan said. 

Until, Robert Cantu reached out and said he had a goose that’s in the same predicament. 

“I had a goose that was lonely. And we connected, and brought our goose up here,” said Cantu. 

“I said, ‘Well that’s perfect.’ You know, we can give them a shot and see how they do,” Phelan said. 

“And that’s how they ended up being out here together,” Cantu said. 

Cantu says his goose “Gwen” just had her mate die, his name was “Mr. Doodle.” 

“My daughter came up with those names,” explained Cantu. 

Soon, the children in town may get to name more geese.

The Los Alamos Daily Post has been chronicling the adventures of these birds. If you have some name suggestions by Thursday, July 20, send them to caclark@ladailypost.com with “Geese” in the subject line.

Watch the video above for more.