Pink-footed goose Anser brachyrhynchus

The Pink-footed Goose is one of Svalbard’s summer visitors and migrates to the island archipelago to breed, having spent the winter in the Netherlands, Belgium or Denmark. The population is thought to be between 37,000 and 50,000. On arrival, the geese stay and feed at landing areas where the snow cover has been thin and melts first. The female lays between one and six eggs and then incubates them for around two weeks. The male stays close to the female for most of this period, protecting her and the nest. Once all the goslings are hatched, the family leaves the nest.

There can be very large numbers of geese present on Svalbard during the summer months and of the three goose species that nest on Svalbard (the brent goose, Branta bernicla, barnacle goose, Branta leucopsis and pink-footed goose, A. brachyrhynchus), A. brachyrhynchus is the most widespread.

Pink-footed geese feed mainly by ‘grubbing’ which involves digging up roots with their beaks for eating and eat mainly grasses and sedges during the nesting period.

Pink-footed goose populations have been steadily increasing in recent years – their population has doubled to 50,000 since the 1960s. If the population continues to increase it is likely to have a detrimental effect on the vegetation of Svalbard, particularly the wetland habitats [7].