Instead of the traditional option of hiring dogs, a prison in Brazil decided to use geese as novel monitors who will patrol around the prison area and emit an alarm if a prisoner escapes.
Geese take on guard duty at a Brazilian prison
A prison in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, Sao Pedro de Alcantara prison, has resonated with the public after hiring geese to patrol around the prison to prevent inmates escape from there.
The 'Geese Agents' will take over the inside fence and main outer wall.
Mentioning this novelty option, the staff emphasized that, thanks to the high vigilance of geese, they can be excellent guards, perhaps even surpassing dogs.
"We have electronic surveillance, in-person surveillance... and finally the surveillance of the geese, which replaced the dogs," according to prison director Marcos Roberto de Souza.
Besides that, they also have a leader called Piu-Piu who possesses a special honk.
Hiring geese can save a huge amount compared to dogs.
The prison director reveals that the cost of raising geese is cheaper than raising dogs, and the prison can also meet the standard living space for a flock of geese rather than a flock of dogs.
"Nighttime is very quiet. Even during the day as you can see it is a very silent place and at night even more so... The space favors this type of security in the case of the geese," he said.
Many excellent factors make geese fit for monitoring missions.
According to Nationalgeographic.com, besides the high vigilance, they also possess great eyesight and hearing that further surpasses humans.
Finally, geese have strong territorial, which means they will make sounds very loud and attack anything that dares to enter their space.
These factors make them potential guard animals. Therefore, the Brazilian prison decided to hire geese as monitors around the prison area to prevent prisoners from escaping here.
Geese in charge of guarding through many ages
For many people, 'Geese Agents' may be a novel concept. However, Sao Pedro de Alcantara prison is not the first facility to hire geese as guards.
In 390 BC, geese saved Rome from a stealth Gaul invasion at the Battle of Allia thanks to their distinctive honks.
'The goose is carefully watchful. Witness the defense of the capitol when the silence of the dogs would have betrayed nothing,' wrote Roman author Pliny the Elder.
After achieving victory, the ancient Romans gave geese the status of gods.
Another legendary story about guard geese that took place from 1959 to 2012, they were dubbed Scotch Watch group with 100 geese.
These birds have successfully preserved Scotch wine worth up to $380 million for more than six decades.
