Waterloo (Canada) - A group of students have been forced to stay in their shared apartment for some time - but not because of stressful lecture preparations, but because of a pair of geese who have declared the porch of the house their territory.

The group of six female students live together in a dormitory in Waterloo, Canada, but since last week a pair of geese have also made themselves at home on the campus grounds.

Instead of peaceful coexistence, the women and innocent walkers are increasingly being attacked by the otherwise calm birds. A camera above the doorbell has already recorded several attacks.

Jory Harris toldPeople that she and her flatmates first noticed the geese last week when they returned home from their university commitments. At first they simply shooed the birds away, but it soon became clear that the animals had built a nest on the adjacent property.

Days went by and they were still taking over an entire section of the street - especially their porch! "And then the father got angrier and angrier and started attacking people," the student reported.

The group of young women watched the attacks from inside their house - until they had to leave.

When the time came to step outside the house, the residents were met with the same fate that had already befallen other passers-by. They quickly realized that they had to watch out for the male animal in particular.

"He's getting really big. He starts snarling at you. And then he runs at you with all his might," Harris continued. For fear of being attacked again, the students only left their house through the back door.

One neighbor was hit particularly hard when she was ambushed by one of the birds during a walk. According to Harris, she suffered numerous bruises and scratches.

The group finally decided to get help and even contacted animal welfare. But they were told that nothing could be done about the matter. Instead, the women were told to wait patiently until mid-May, when the cubs were expected to hatch.