By Tim Binnall
In a weird story out of Illinois, authorities are on the hunt for a woman who was filmed illegally pocketing some wild goose eggs from a nest at a shopping center. According to a local media report, the strange incident occurred on Monday afternoon in the village of Niles. Earlier that day, officers from the community's police department placed a camera to watch over the eggs of a couple of Canada geese that had taken up residence along the side of a commercial building at the Golf Mill Mall. Incredibly, just a few hours later, Niles Animal Control Officer Allison Cole received a jaw-dropping video from the device.
Rather than seeing the geese returning to their eggs that afternoon, the astonished officer recalled, "I get footage of a woman taking the eggs." The "shocked" Cole recalled that she initially gave the stranger the benefit of the doubt, thinking "maybe she's affiliated with an organization or wildlife rehabilitation that was also aware of this nest and monitoring them." However, those groups were contacted about the situation, but no one recognized the sticky-fingered woman who made off with the eggs. Given the indelicate manner in which she surreptitiously stuffed them in her pockets before fleeing the scene, that she was not with a wildlife group is not altogether surprising.
As one might imagine, police are calling on the public for any help they can offer in identifying the woman, who clearly had no idea her brazen heist was caught on film. While one imagines that she may have thought she was not committing a crime, Canada geese are actually a protected species in Illinois, and disturbing their nests or eggs can result in a whopping $15 fine or even a staggering six months in jail. "Sometimes it's just a matter of educating," Cole said, "some people truly don't know they're not supposed to do this."