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Coping with Wildlife
Most of us reach "our limit" at some point in our lives — that moment when we just can't take it anymore. In our twelve years of dealing with wildlife, we have also dealt with some wild people — folks who had reached their limits and were seeking help. We've also dealt with some folks who will probably never reach their limit These are the cool, calm and collected people that I admire so much, probably because I am not one of them.
The purpose of this article is to show "both sides of the coin" in hopes that those of us who go overboard on a daily basis can learn something from those who have the ability to take things in stride and deal with (wild) life one step at a time.
In August of 1996, we received a phone call from a lady with a huge problem on her hands. She had just found the carcasses of 16 pet sheep, dead in their pen, not eaten, just killed. She was calling to seek our help in determining what animal could have done this, and what she should do. She never lost her cool, yet was obviously distraught at losing 16 beloved pets. After determining that a mountain lion had killed her sheep, we advised her to contact the Ca. Dept. of Fish & Game. She did so and remained stoically brave through the entire ordeal. To this day, I admire the courage of this brave lady and wish I could be more like her. I know if I found 16 of my pets dead one morning, I'd probably reach my limit.
On the other hand, not ten minutes after receiving the above phone call, we received a call from an extremely irate lady, one who had certainly reached her limit. It seems that her mailbox had daily deposits of "smaller than rice" feces on it. She couldn't take it anymore and wanted to know what was do (do-ing) it and how she could eliminate this hideous creature from her premises. This lady was truly upset and, in her words, "something had to be done immediately". I calmed her down, told her that it was most probably bats or a small rodent creating this monumental problem, and suggested some humane deterrent measures. Had this call not come on the heels of the ‘sheep' call, I would have simply forgotten it. The irony of these two back to back situations still bewilders me!
You want skunk stories? I've got a million of them. One of our favorites is a "middle of the nighter". It involved a Ramonan, hysterically sobbing. It seems that she had gone to the bathroom at 2 A.M., only to find herself in closed quarters with a skunk. Panic stricken, she still managed to get to the phone and call us. Chuck, knowing she had reached her limit, and also knowing that she was a neighbor, offered to help her remove the skunk from her bathroom. By the time Chuck got to the scene, the skunk had casually ambled out the pet door. With the emergency resolved and the citizen soothed, Chuck returned home for his 2 hours sleep.
Two other skunk tales come to mind when thinking of this dire emergency. One involves an elderly gentleman who called just to tell us his story. His home has a pet door to allow the family cat to come and go. Late one evening, he was awakened by the cat situating himself under the covers. After a little shuffling, man and beast went to sleep together. Upon arising the next morning, Mr. Smith uncovered himself- and a drowsy skunk! While he quietly tip-toed to the kitchen to gather his thoughts, the groggy skunk stumbled to the kitchen and out the pet door, obviously his regular routine. This had probably been going on for months, but on that particular day, the jig was up. From then on, the cat was brought inside for the night and the pet door secured. Mr. Smith loved telling his story, and was happy to talk to someone who could appreciate it. Cool guy.
Another cute story involves a maternal family cat. Apparently this cat wanted a youngster, found one and brought it home. The cat showed the youngster the food bowls, the bed, and even introduced the kid to her human family. The only problem in this is that the youngster was a juvenile skunk! The little skunk made herself at home every evening, just as the family cat did. As a matter of fact, the situation still exists. The humans involved have made every effort to exclude the skunk without excluding their cat, but wherever the cat goes, so goeth the skunk. After many hours of discussion with us and among themselves, the family has decided to let nature take its course. Meanwhile, the skunk continues to follow Mama cat and obey her instructions. After almost a year of this routine, the humans have accepted their fate, and the skunk has never sprayed. So far, so good!
During the spring, we receive literally hundreds of phone calls about wild ducks landing in swimming pools, nesting nearby, and teaching their young to swim in the pools. The calls are usually from angry folks who resent their pools being fouled, and demand that we handle this problem. The situation rarely gets better when we inform these folks that the ducks are federally protected and that we are not allowed to scoop them up and relocate them. A simple pool cover would have prevented the problem from occurring in the first place. A word to those of you who have had this problem in the past: If ducks found your pool last year, they will probably find your pool this year, too. Nip your problem in the bud and deter the ducks before they have their babies.
On the other hand, we have a friend who so desperately wants to see ducks in her pool that she purchased duck decoys in hopes of attracting the real thing. Five years later, she still has only her wooden ducks in the pool!
Especially with spring and summer coming and the wildlife explosion to follow, learn to go with the flow and don't let life's minor disturbances ruin this beautiful season.
Click here for a printable collection of the articles listed above from the booklet "Bats In Your Belfry, Tips On Co-Existing With Urban Wildlife." |
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