Animals: Old Geese

One James S. Morrow, farmer near Warren, Ohio, last week averred that Dolly and Polly, two wild geese he owns, are more than 117 years old. Ornithologists found such age incredible although they know little concerning the life span of wild creatures.

The Morrow family has letters indicating that William Garberson, a great-grandfather, captured the geese on a millpond in 1814. A local atlas 50 years old contains a picture of wild geese owned by Mathew McKinstry, grandfather. The birds were handed down generation to generation. When Farmer Morrow got them six years ago there were five in the flock but one of them died in transit, another died in a barnyard accident and a third escaped.

The remaining two are larger than the average Canadian wild goose. They retain full plumage. They take annual turns laying eggs, one resting while the other produces.