In today’s newspaper there was an article about a doe and her two fawns walking into an Iowa Kohl’s. I love reading stories about interactions between humans and animals, especially those that have happy endings.
In this world where our need for more space has encroached on natural areas, the number of interactions between wildlife and people are increasing. Birds, squirrels and raccoons are commonly seen but there is more evidence of larger animals taking up residence in urban areas.
Not everyone is happy with this situation. Homeowners who invest significant time and money into landscaping do not appreciate the pruning habits of whitetail deer. Housecats allowed to wander outdoors at night can fall prey to coyotes. I don’t even want to delve into the concerns of ranchers and farmers and their adversarial relationship with wolves and cougars.
The reality is that all wildlife have fundamental needs that must be met to survive. Larger pack carnivores, such as wolves may require anywhere from less than 100 to 1,000 square miles of territory to provide adequate food sources to maintain its pack’s nutritional needs. When faced with certain death from starvation and territorial challenges, wildlife can move into populated areas. Keep out signs and fencing is meaningless if the animal is starving and there is a tasty vegetable bed in the back yard.
I enjoy watching wildlife in my yard; my daily experience of wilderness in the confines of suburbia. Yes, I understand that everyone doesn’t share my belief, but I also know that maintaining our ecosystems, and my place in them, are dependent upon the survival of all inhabitants, human and not. What I would wish for is a little more tolerance of our wildlife neighbors. Instead of immediately calling animal control or using lethal control measures, think about how ways we can all share this world together.
P.S. I'll be taking the rest of the week off to enjoy a long Thanksgiving weekend with my family. Have a great week and I'll be back on Monday.
No comments:
Post a Comment