In 1822, a resident of Bothmer Estate near Mecklenburg, Germany shot a stork out of the sky. When he ran to gather up the body, he was shocked to find that the stork had already been shot, with a long spear somewhere in or above Central Africa. Not only did this “pfeilstorch,” or “arrow-stork,” prove itself to be extremely badass—it also let scientists know once and for all that birds migrate over Africa.

Okay, now fast forward to 2017. Our new pfeilstorch is a Canada goose with a massive arrow stuck in her neck, waddling around Amherst, New York and throwing people into a frenzy.

“Everyone’s been looking for [her],” local resident Christine Hausrath told WKBW. While everyone wants to help the goose, no one can catch her, and representatives from the SPCA and the Department of Environmental Conservation have been following up calls from citizens only to find the animal long gone. ”The SPCA and others are literally on a wild goose chase,” summed up Nalina Shapiro of WIVB-TV. 

Canada geese in happier times.
Canada geese in happier times. Dcoetzee/Public Domain

The arrow goose is, generally, behaving as though nothing’s wrong. In a Snapchat video sent by a viewer, she swags around with other geese, dabbing at the grass with her beak. (The videographer has captioned the video, simply, “How do.”)

So the new plan is this: if you see the goose and it’s nesting or otherwise sitting still—or appears to be in distress—give the police a call. ”Maybe we can get out there, the goose won’t leave the nest, won’t leave its eggs, and hopefully we can work to get that arrow out,” says Gina Browning of the SPCA.

Every day, we track down a fleeting wonder—something amazing that’s only happening right now. Have a tip for us? Tell us about it! Send your temporary miracles to cara@atlasobscura.com.