Question: What is a young goose called?
Show answer
A gosling.
A young goose is called a “gosling.” The term “gosling” is specifically used to describe geese that haven’t yet reached maturity. This word is analogous to terms like “chick” for chickens and “duckling” for ducks, emphasizing the young age and inexperience of the bird.
Goslings, when they first emerge from their eggs, are covered in soft down. This down is typically yellow or gray in color, though it can vary depending on the specific breed or species of goose. Within a few weeks, this down begins to be replaced by feathers, and the gosling starts to look more like a miniature version of its parents.
During their early days, goslings are incredibly vulnerable to predators. Their inability to fly and their reliance on their parents for warmth, protection, and food make their early life stages critical. Parent geese are notoriously protective of their young, often seen leading them in a line, usually with one parent at the front and the other at the back, ensuring the goslings are safely sandwiched between them. If a threat is perceived, adult geese will often hiss and charge at the potential predator to drive it away.
Goslings are also known for their practice of “imprinting.” Imprinting is an instinctual behavior where the goslings bond to the first moving object they see after hatching, which in natural circumstances would be one of their parents. This bond is immediate and typically lifelong. Imprinted goslings will follow the imprinted object or organism, recognizing it as a source of security and care. This phenomenon has been observed and studied extensively, with goslings imprinting on humans, other animals, or even inanimate objects if they are exposed to them soon after hatching.
