Plastic coyotes protect park from geese

Geese have a way of bothering some park visitors, but the folks in Fort Smith, Ark., may have come up with a new way to keep the birds away. The city Department of Parks and Recreation bought six realistic-looking plastic coyotes, which they placed in the Carol Ann Cross Park. Mike Alsup, the director of parks and recreation, told the local 40/29 TV news that since the city installed the faux-coyotes, the geese have since stayed mainly in the park's pond. "So far it seems it's working," Alsup said. I have seen stories before about people using plastic owls to keep away pigeons. But this is the first time I've seen the coyotes vs. geese strategy. Seeing the plastic animals in this Arkansas TV report reminds me of a plant tour I took quite a few years ago at Flambeau Inc. in Baraboo, Wis. They had a very interesting operation for blow molding and decorating plastic decoys. And, of course, thinking of Flambeau reminded me of the year that author Dave Barry put a Flambeau "duck butt" decoy in his annual holiday gift guide. As Dave himself might say, I'm not making this up... and Merry Christmas to readers of the Plastics Blog.