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January 17, 2006
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* Predators * |
First of all, I must apologize for the graphic nature of
this email. But it is real, and it is a serious problem. And if you love your
pets, you'll read on.
While driving down the highway, close to my house this
past week, at around 11:00 AM, in broad daylight, I passed this coyote
trotting down the road. I quickly turned the car around and grabbed my camera
and headed back to try to get a good shot of it. When it saw me turn around it
quickly got off the road and made its way through a fence. When I pulled up I
was able to get this shot as it headed out into the desert. As I turned to get
the shot, I noticed that it had an animal in its mouth. At first I thought it
may have been a rabbit. But it was too large and the wrong color for any wild
rabbits in this area. So then I thought it may have been a cat. But upon
further analysis of the image itself, I have determined that it was a small
dog.
Now I know that this may seem cruel, but it is a fact of
life out here in the desert, and any other areas where predators encroach upon
our populated environments.
At first site I feel so fortunate and I am fascinated as
I feel that I am capturing a shot of a wild animal. But my attitude quickly
turns sour and sad when I discover the truth of the matter.
It does all boil down to "survival of the
fittest" and "only the strong survive". But we are almost
always the inappropriate and erroneous catalyst in this whole natural turn of
events. Because if we would not have encroached upon their environment, and
brought an ample food source for them, then they would not have a reason to encroach
upon ours.
Here are a few recent personal events that may shed some
light on what I am trying to explain....
In my time here in Arizona I have noticed a comparison
between the predators and human behaviors in this area.
Very simply, as people think they might be assisting
nature by feeding the local birds and wildlife, they are also providing a
wonderful feeding ground for predators as well. Because, as they feed the
local birds, rabbits, and other small creatures, this causes them to crowd
around the feeding area, and give a predator a whole plethora of food sources
at their disposal. So they come. I guess you could say, "If you feed
them, they will come."
The Hawk
An example: My cousin, in the house next door, seems to
enjoy the large accumulation of birds in front of his house as he feeds them
every morning. This seemed to be a harmless and even generous undertaking in
providing food for the hungry birds. But the more they came around, the more I
noticed predators in the area. The cute little roadrunners were coming around
more and more, feeding off of the small quail and other birds. Packs of
coyotes would visit our property early every morning. And one morning, while
the birds were all feeding, a hawk had made a violent dive to try to get a quick
meal. This caused the birds to frantically escape. A quail took off and, in
its frenzy, crashed into one of my windows, throwing glass all across my
living room. The screen kept the bird from entering and the quail survived.
The Coyotes
Another close encounter with predators came one morning
as I was leaving for work. I looked and noticed a pack of about five coyotes
making their way to a small opening in our fence and off the property. But
since then I have noticed that this seems to be almost a daily ritual for them
as they enter the east part of the property with ease, and cross to a specific
place where they get through the fence on the west side. But they are likely
to be evaluating the area every morning as it must provide a good possible
food source for them. I was able to get a picture of one of them before it
took off.
The Bobcat
Another encounter took place one evening as I went down
to close the gate to the property. As I came around my house, I noticed
something dart back behind the front of my cousin's house. At first I thought
it might have been a coyote, but in the poor lighting, thought it might have
seemed a little too dark. I didn't think much more about it, so I headed down
to the gate and closed it. But as I was coming back, I saw a shadow dart
across the grounds. I stopped, and it stopped. I turned back, and it turned
back. I changed direction again, and it did too. At that time, it had crossed
directly in front of one of our ground lights when I saw it. A very large
bobcat stood right there in the light, watching my every move. Apparently,
like the coyote's, it was trying to make its way to the hole in the fence,
behind me. I gradually headed towards my house, and in the same direction of
the bobcat. It slowly headed towards me. We kept moving slowly until we were
about twenty feet from each other when the bobcat turned to my left and made a
path around me. I became very nervous when I realized that it left the lighted
area, and i had no clue where it was after that. But I made my way to the
house and grabbed a flashlight. Of course by the time I came back out, the
bobcat was gone.
The Owl
It was about 9:30 PM and I was leaving my house one
evening. Not paying attention, and watching the ground, I got out of my car
and headed towards the gate. As I reached out to grab the latch to the gate, a
very large owl let out a very loud screech as it took off from the gate post,
right in front of my face. As it took off, and since I was so close, it struck
me in the head with its large wings and flew off. I jumped back and almost
fell to the ground out of fright. And then became very frustrated with myself
for not having noticed it and gotten a picture of it.
Now, for some time I have noticed that rabbits have
really enjoyed grazing around the area outside of our gate. Then, our neighbor
has also been feeding birds around there, and there had been very many doves
and quail.
But since I had noticed the owl, perched on the gate
post, the numbers of birds and rabbits in that area have diminished a great
deal. And every time I go in and out of the gate, it seems like there is more
and more feathers around the area. Feathers that seem to match that of the
doves and quail.
The Hawks
Just the other morning, not far from the hole in the
west fence, I saw three Harris Hawks, perched on a tree. I got out of my car
and got some shots of them until they all took off.
So, what am I trying to say here? Well, wild animals
are....well....wild. And predators hunt, and kill for food and survival. And,
although you may think that your dog or cat may be fast or tough, it is still
very domesticated, and may not have the reflexes or speed necessary to evade
such a strong and cunning predator.
I continue to tell people to keep their pets inside. I
hate maintaining a litter box. But the alternative is not a pretty thought.
Although my cat was surviving outside when I found her, her time would have
eventually come to an end.
And some people may think that its too cruel to confine
their pets indoors. But just imagine how cruel it is to watch them being whisked
away in the mouth of a predator. And think of the horror that it must feel as
it is eaten alive.
Galixy.net
