Canada goose following Alberta man in viral video may have been lost, imprinted on humans

WATCH: A viral video posted by a man in Alberta shows a Canada goose following him even as he drives away. The man eventually led the bird to a lake.

He may have been a gone goose, but he will likely find a new family soon.

That’s what expert Sid Andrews from the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary said will likely happen to the Canada goose that apparently followed a man as he drove on a gravel road.

In a video in what appears to be shot by the driver, which is described to be shot near Shiningbank Lake, Alberta, the bird approaches the man driving through an isolated area and follows him closely as he drives towards the lake.

The odd behaviour displayed by the bird has caught many people’s eye, and the video has since gone viral, reaching over 322,000 viewers in two days.

But what could explain the bird’s behaviour?

Andrews, who said the goose’s behaviour was “fascinating,” told Global News that he believed the bird could have been raised by humans.

“I would guess that because it allowed the fellow driving the truck to get very close, that it at some point in time, it must have been imprinted on human beings,” said Andrews.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I would guess that because it allowed the fellow driving the truck to get very close, that it at some point in time, it must have been imprinted on human beings," said Andrews.

According to Andrews, a wild goose, even one that is used to being fed by tourists, would not allow a human to touch or pet them as this goose did.

“When it gets to the water, it’s certainly very familiar with water, but I noticed that the goose was in the water for a bit but it came back on shore to be close to the human,” said Andrews.

He added that the bird may have been lost and separated from its flock, indicated by how it pecked at its reflection in the truck’s bumper.

“It somehow got lost or estranged from the group and found, just by happenstance, another goose in the reflection in the bumper,” he speculated, adding that the goose – imprinted on humans – likely followed the man even as he drove because the man created a relationship with it.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It somehow got lost or estranged from the group and found, just by happenstance, another goose in the reflection in the bumper," he speculated, adding that the goose - imprinted on humans - likely followed the man even as he drove because the man created a relationship with it.

Andrews says the bird has a “pretty huge” chance of survival.

“There’s lots of time for that bird to find other geese and as the weather gets cooler, it’ll catch on in migrating and find other geese,” he said.

Global News has not independently verified the authenticity of the video.