Palace Wildlife I

I work at the Al Faw Palace in the middle of what was once a gigantic hunting preserve/resort complex for the Ba'ath Party bigwigs in the Saddam Era. Virtually all the "wildlife" that was here is now gone, but there are a few notable exceptions.

The palace itself sits in the middle of a man-made lake, which is full year-round even in this dry, desert climate. Originally filled with water diverted from the Tigris River and it's many canals, it was used for boating, fishing and recreation by the elitists of the old regime.

It's most obvious residents are two flocks of geese which live in a kind of goose paradise on the lake. Although surrounded by thousands of armed Americans, the geese are not hunted, and certainly don't lack for food. That's because, like street urchins anywhere in the world, the geese have learned to beg.

Above: Iraqi geese eye my breakfast, hoping for a meal.

Every morning, as soldiers make the trip back from the chow hall after their breakfast, the geese know the game. They swim to the mainland from their small goose island and climb ashore. Ambling over to the gate, they set up watch. Inevitably, a soldier walks by, holding a small container of Cocoa Puffs or Fruit Loops and rattles them around. The geese squawk, dip their heads and waddle over.

They're persistant too, and woe be unto the soldier who passes by them and doesn't pay tribute. One in particular - who must be a female because she never stops talking - is very aggressive, and will snap at other geese or come up behind you and tug on your pants leg with her bill. Fortunately, however, there are usually plenty of folks willing to feed them, so they quickly get their full. Many soldiers - including myself - have gotten such a great rapport with the geese that they literally eat out of our hands. Only occasionally do they bite - inadvertently - but their mud-covered bills often leave your hands dirty once you're done.

My predecessor, LT Miller, used to feed them religiously every day. One day, the geese had strayed over by the Iraqi compound. With an Iraqi soldier eyeing us inquisitively, LT Miller tore up bits of a pancake and threw it to the geese. Who knows what the Iraqi guard thought. Probably that we crazy Americans were feeding the geese better than many Iraqis are eating.

The geese, of course, devoured the pancakes for a good two or three minutes. Then, almost in perfect unison, they stopped, turned, and dashed across the parking lot. There, where a small puddle of water had formed, they quickly began drinking large amounts of water. The pancakes, it seemed, had dried them out completely.

The geese are divided into two camps - which hate each other to an amazing degree. Often they will form up outside the gate and have great squawk fights, occasionally charging and driving off members of their rival group. We've taken to referring to the two clans as the Shi'a geese and the Sunni geese.


Every now and then, of course, the goose population gets a little boost, with the addition of a few new members. About a month or so ago, several new chicks hatched out. Here is one of them. He started out completely yellow and has slowly darkened, then lightened, to become more and more goose-like.

A mother goose and chick.

Two chicks at slightly different ages.