[NAFEX] people, piglets and deer
list at ginda.us
list at ginda.us
Mon Feb 9 17:58:47 EST 2004
I had a big increase in my rodent population the year we had a coyote
den nearby. The chipmunks, in particular, boomed, but we had extra
rabbits and mice and voles, and no shortage of squirrels. That was the
year I got the fewest berries ever. I think it's because the coyotes
killed my local fox, and killed or scared inside all the local cats,
but didn't bother with the little stuff that ate my berries. So I am
not a coyote fan.
(The hawks that occasionally nest nearby, on the other hand, are my
friends. We've had red shouldered and red tail hawk pairs, and when I
see them around, the squirrels make themselves scarce.)
Ginda
In the Boston suburbs, where there's more wildlife than I would have
expected.
On Feb 9, 2004, at 12:52 PM, Lon J. Rombough wrote:
> Having a son who has studied this sort of thing has helped me a lot.
> He showed me that coyotes (at least here), hawks, owls, snakes, etc.
> feed almost exclusively on small rodents and having them around is a
> great way to keep the place clean of vermin. Even cougars, which show
> up around here, are not a problem because the ones we see are always
> just passing through. Individual males have very large territories,
> measured in many square miles, and most of the time the ones you
> actually see are young males trying to find some place to claim as a
> territory. Most don't make it and die of starvation and disease. The
> few that do, quickly learn to avoid humans and things connected with
> them.
> As you note, the people who kill off the predators pay for it in
> much larger populations of rodents and crop destroying pests. The
> ones that start taking pets, sheep, etc. are usually very rare and
> only do it if they are starving or unable to catch other things.
> -Lon Rombough
>
>
>
> Here in SE Texas, at least in my area of it, we have coyotes. They
> don't seem to make a dent in the deer population though. Some farmers
> in the area claim that they kill calves, but I believe that it is more
> likely feral dogs. Our rabbit population is very small, so maybe that
> is what they are going after.
>
> Farmers and ranchers in the area are at odds with any kind of
> predator,
> including owls, hawks, snakes, etc. and have killed off most of them.
> Maybe that's why our gopher population is so healthy. If it weren't
> for
> federal protection and large fines, the mating pair of American bald
> eagles on the next property to mine would be stuffed on someone's
> trophy case, or just shot and left where they fall. There seems to be
> little knowledge in the area of a balance of natural forces.
>
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