Friends of goose worry about what will happen when Echo Park Lake is drained
The honking you hear along Park Avenue in Echo Park isn't coming from motorists.
It's just Maria the Goose, out for a spin with her friend Dominic Ehrler. Ehrler is a retired investor who was befriended by the web-footed waterfowl 10 months ago at Echo Park Lake.
"When she first started following me around like a dog, I got goose bumps," Ehrler said. "David Foster, one of the parks people here, finally introduced me to her. He said, 'You know you're being stalked! Her name is Maria.' "
These days, Maria greets Ehrler each morning about 8 when he rides his bright red motor scooter down the hill from his Figueroa Terrace condo. Then she leads him around the lake as Ehrler pulls out a bag of tortillas retrieved from a store trash bin and feeds the park's other geese.
Read more: "A match of man and goose."
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-- Bob Pool
Photo: Maria, a graylag goose, chases Dominic Ehrler as part of their regular routine at Echo Park. Credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times
Great story!
Here's another story from the L.A. Times a while back about a man and his goose: http://www.latimes.com/la-me-goose-ss,0,6252897.htmlstory
Posted by: Robert Provin | February 13, 2011 at 04:58 PM
a wonderful story, and picture, thanks Bob Pool...and hope the goose gets a good home....
Posted by: Jerome Shipanik | February 13, 2011 at 06:53 PM
OK, so Mr. Wildlife Conservationist feeds geese on tortillas with unknown possible contaminants from the garbage while living off of his Wall Street investments for the rest of his life BUT he wants all of the rest of LA to stop progress so that his strange world isn't affected. Got it.
Posted by: Sorker | February 13, 2011 at 07:01 PM
what does this article have anything to do with the lake being drained!!!
Posted by: change the title | February 13, 2011 at 11:21 PM
This is a great story! Love the picture of Maria flying along after him. It would be something to see .. Life is all too serious now with unsettling issues all over the world not to mention the economy. Terrific morale booster for those of us who take pleasure in simply wonderful things around us that bring about a smile and a sunny mood. Thank you LA Times for giving the article a prominent spot.
Posted by: D Wilson | February 14, 2011 at 09:08 PM