Durban - Pupils preparing for a swimming lesson got more than they bargained for on Wednesday when they found a family of Egyptian geese had beaten them to the pool.
Pupils at Penzance Primary School in Glenwood were surprised to see a pair of adult geese and their apparently unwell gosling at one end of the pool, just as they were about to begin their lesson at the other end.
School authorities called several wildlife organisations to help get the geese out, and three Monkey Helpline rescuers volunteered.
They in turn roped in two pupils, Roxanne Cohen and Gustav Snyman, to lure the geese towards Monkey Helpline’s Steve Smit who was waiting at the side of the pool to net them.
While the rest of the swimming class waited for their lesson to begin, Carol Booth of Monkey Helpline recorded the unfolding rescue on her cellphone.
As the two pupils swam closer to the geese, the adult pair high-tailed it out of the pool, waddling to the safety of land, leaving their female offspring, which appeared to be ill, behind.
The gosling dodged Roxanne, swimming past her. When the pupils did a second lap, the gosling jumped over two pool lanes and swam to the other end, as the other children shrieked with excitement in the background.
She then dodged the two swimmers on the third lap and swam halfway up the pool before turning back again. Roxanne and Gustav were then given kicker boards to hold above their heads and walk towards the gosling.
Finally, she jumped out and honked at the two swimmers before Smit netted her.
The 15-minute rescue over, the gosling was taken to Dr Kerry Easson at Riverside Veterinary Clinic in Durban North for treatment, while the swimming lesson finally got under way.
An X-ray cleared the gosling of any injuries. “It appears weak. Easson gave us a food diet sheet to follow, which we will pass on to the school today when we return the goose to her parents, which are still there,” Booth said.
“We presume the parents landed at the school to nurture their gosling back to health.”