Geese, Squirrels, and Ducks are Cute, but also Scary

Considering that my last post was quite full on, it's time for a more (and slightly unconventional) relaxed post!

Let's talk about wildlife at Warwick!

A lot of the time we associate nature with peace and calmness. However, sometimes you will find that the reality can be the complete opposite.

Firstly, I will talk about something every Warwick student loves (besides our campus friend Rolf. Obviously, he will always take the top spot): the geese on campus.


Warwick is known for its (sometimes aggressive) geese who tend to hang out outside Math/ Statistics and by accommodations which are situated near lakes.

They look cute at first when you see them huggling (that's probably not a word, but we'll just go with it) down for bedtime in the evenings, or swimming alongside their gosling. If I just walk past them, no harm done, right?

WRONG! They will attack and they need no reason to!
Lucky, I've not (yet!) experience a goose attack, but plenty of students have.

At this time of the year when they're with their goslings  it's best to keep your distance. We even have notes stuck around student accommodation warning us to be aware!

They also make some strange noises.

Play the audio on the left to hear the goose 'honking' outside my student accommodation. This literally went on for an hour. Trying to do that online test was a struggle!

Let's also not forget the trail of 💩💩💩 they leave on the paths. Every Warwick student has found themselves dodging over the mess on the way to a lecture or seminar!

Nevertheless, the geese are a special part of our campus and we still love seeing them around!


I have also mentioned squirrels in the post title. If you ask me the squirrels are just as bad (except that don't attack you on purpose)!

Edwin Andrews | Pexels

This reminds me of an event I witnessed:

During my first term I was walking to a lecture and I spot two squirrels chasing each other. I thought it was cute. BUT the next thing you know Squirrel #2 appears to tag Squirrel #1's and runs across the road right past me. Poor Squirrel #1 was just standing there on their hind legs, and I'm not even joking - I have never seen such a sad-looking squirrel in my life. Turns out Squirrel #2 had stolen their precious acorn...Sad times...😢

I don't really know why I shared that story with you, but there we go.

Anyways, before I go on a tangent about how sorry I feel for the squirrel- why are squirrels as scary as geese?

They literally jump out at you from NOWHERE. There are so many bushes on campus, which means plenty hiding spaces. There has been endless amount of times when I have been casually walking and a squirrel has shot out just a few inches away from me. If it's ever happened to you, you will know that it literally makes your heart skip a beat.

I think that we will all agree that walking around in the dark is scary. Walking in the dark + squirrels rustling around in bushes = frightening. Add some creepy music in for more effect and you have yourself one of those scenes from a horror movie where you get the impression that the protagonist is being stalked, something pops out of nowhere giving you a jump-scare, and it turns out to be nothing scary at all.

Another story: I once got scared because a leaf flew in my face and I genuinely thought that it was a squirrel... In my defence, the leaf was basically the same colour and size of a squirrel.

I still think they're cute though!

Elsemargriet | Pixabay

Moving onto the ducks!

I should really have my own photo of the ducks, but it turns out that I don't.

Fun fact: Warwick apparently ranks 4th place when it comes to 🦆 density on university grounds.

To be completely honest, there's not much to say about the ducks on campus. They just mind their own business.

In my opinion, we need to worry about the ducks. They seem pretty friendly (...wait for me to get attacked by one within the next week or so).

Despite the occasional disturbances and scares I actually missed seeing the geese, squirrels, and ducks every day during the Easter break, but I'm enjoying seeing them all again now! I can't sit and cuddle them like my guinea pigs, but it will do. I can only imagine!

There's usually a take-home message on my posts, but since this was just a fun and random 'wildlife at Warwick' post, there's not really one. I guess the general message is that if you go to university with a lot of wildlife - appreciate it! That's that!

I also have an update for you all here about the next  month or so.