[2] The genus has a Holarctic distribution, with at least one species breeding in any open, wet habitats in the subarctic and cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in summer.

[6][7] The evolutionary relationships between Anser geese have been difficult to resolve because of their rapid radiation during the Pleistocene and frequent hybridization.

[8][9] In 2016 Ottenburghs and colleagues published a study that established the phylogenetic relationships between the species by comparing exonic DNA sequences.

?Anser scaldii Beneden 1872 nomen nudum (Late Miocene of Antwerp, Belgium) may be a shelduck.

Most species are hunted to a greater or lesser extent; in some areas, some populations are threatened by over-hunting and habitat loss.

In some cases, this has led to conflicts with farming, when large flocks of geese graze crops in the winter.