The injured wild goose is still at Bellevue Park in Belleville, but there are dedicated wildlife enthusiasts on his (or her) trail hoping to capture and rehabilitate the bird.

I received a lot of calls and some emails about the goose after I wrote about it in Tuesday's newspaper. Many people want to help and a few volunteered to try.

In case you missed it, the goose I am talking about has fishing line tangled around its body and the line has snagged its left foot, leaving it tied up and helpless.

The goose can still hop around pretty well on one foot, take off and fly and swim in the lake at the park. That makes capture much harder than it might seem, said Sandie Konopelski, a local licensed wildlife rehabilitator from Shiloh. She has been trying for a couple of weeks to bring in the goose to help it.

They don't call it wildlife for nothing. It is a wily goose that quickly learned to fly at the sight of any kind of net or trap, she said. It won't let anyone get close to it, so the capture process is proceeding slowly, she said.

"We're going step by step on his schedule. It can't be hurried. If one goose honks a warning at any commotion, all scatter. There is nothing harder to capture than a wild goose.

"He's seen me before with a net and he knows he doesn't like me," she said. "He did let me sit beside the woman who is helping me by taming and feeding it.

"People think if they get close they can try to dive and catch it," Konopelski said. "Apparently some have, because the goose is wary."

Grabbing it before it can get airborne or into the water isn't possible, she said. Nor is trapping it with a snare or pole hook.

Neither is sedation because if the goose begins feeling odd, it will head for the water. If it is in the water and not able to paddle, it will sink and drown, she said.

The good news is that Konopelski has seen the goose move its tangled leg some, which means it still may be worth saving.

When she and her helper are able to capture the goose, it will go into a large crate and be taken to her house.

"He and I will sit in the living room on a big comforter and I will cut him loose," she said. "He's going to stress and poop. When he settles down, I can evaluate him and put salve on his leg."

The goose then will go to Treehouse Wildlife Center in Dow for rehabilitation.

"If he can be rehabilitated, he will be released back at Bellevue," Konopelski said. "If not, he can stay at the lakes at Treehouse with other wild fowl.

Meanwhile, Konopelski is asking well-meaning people not to interfere with the goose. The more it is left alone, the easier it will be for her and her helper to capture it.

"People are concerned and I appreciate that," she said. "We were sitting there the other day and people were walking by asking, 'Getting closer? Getting closer?'"

Have a column idea? Call Wally Spiers at 239-2506 or 800-642-3878, or email him at wspiers@bnd.com.