![\"Gary](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/gary-stone-OF65HB2F75ERPBJR5ZAHKPRORM.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA bizarre showdown between a goose and a sheep has turned an unlikely pair of West Auckland backyard animals into a viral internet sensation. <\/p>\n
Footage of Thomas the goose taking on one of his much larger paddock mates has racked up more than a million views after he managed to topple the sheep and refused to let go.<\/p>\n
Seven Sharp met the animals behind the viral encounter and learned the rivalry was very much still alive. <\/p>\n
Thomas the goose shared a lifestyle block with three sheep \u2014 Bubba, Richard and Spotty \u2014 owned by Gary Stone, who said the animals generally got along despite the occasional spats. <\/p>\n
Stone said he was working in his shed when he heard the commotion and happened to pull out his phone at the right moment. <\/p>\n
“When the sheep was down the goose wasn’t letting go, so I had to go over there and I just gave him a little tap and he went on his way,” he said. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Gary Stone. (Source: Seven Sharp)<\/p>\n
“He’s never taken them down since or before then, so it was one in a million, I guess.” <\/p>\n
Stone posted the footage through an account for his side business making fishing lures, where it quickly took off. <\/p>\n
“It got about a million views within a week,” he said. <\/p>\n
Thomas was keen for a rematch when Seven Sharp visited the property with tensions flaring up once again between the goose and his woollen neighbours.<\/p>\n
This time, Richard the sheep fought back, delivering a headbutt that sent Thomas on his way. <\/p>\n
![\"Thomas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/thomas-the-goose-with-one-of-his-paddock-mates-2RCCLAUGPFG2RMCEUBVQEDEPRA.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Thomas the goose with one of his paddock mates. (Source: Seven Sharp)<\/p>\n
Stone said he didn’t encourage the fighting, but Thomas was rarely willing to back down. <\/p>\n
“He’s a fighter,” he said. <\/p>\n
“He goes until it all stops and the sheep give up. The sheep move away and so he’s the victor.” <\/p>\n
He had a different theory as for why Thomas was determined to take on animals several times his size.<\/p>\n
“They’re obviously both grass-eating animals and the same colour, so I think he thinks he’s an old ram or something like that.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A bizarre showdown between a goose and a sheep has turned an unlikely pair of West Auckland backyard…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607550,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[50,51,111,43,139,69],"class_list":["post-607549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-animals","tag-auckland","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}