Conscious Choice: Worlds Collide

August 2000

Worlds Collide

Wildlife In Our Midst

by Mary Boldan

Philosopher Baba Dium once wrote, "We only conserve what we love, we only love what we understand, we only understand what we know, we only know what we are taught." For that reason, if for no other, we need to get acquainted with the wildlife who share our space. We tend to assume that wildlife is found only in rural areas, and any that happens to find itself in our backyard is a nuisance or dangerous pest. But that just is not so. City living or suburban living may be unnatural for wildlife, but it is becoming more prevalent as urban development and sprawl move into areas where wild animals originally made their homes. In fact, urbanization may be defined as the process by which wildlife habitats are transformed to better meet the needs of humans. As urbanization continues nearly unabated, wildlife is ensnared in our confines.

Wildlife has had a very short time to learn to explore this new and strange environment. Even so, those who have side-stepped the dangers and disadvantages of building, noise, light, pollution, and hordes of people have discovered that there are many benefits to urban living. For example, food sources are available all year round. For some, there is comfort and refuge in buildings, sewers, and water pipes. And, there is almost always a network of open spaces — parks, backyards, community gardens, and cemeteries — providing refuge, hunting-and-gathering grounds, and even homes.

We enjoy wildlife in parks and other natural areas yet we become alarmed or annoyed when wildlife makes its presence too well known, or comes too close, as when animals make their dens in attics or under decks.

Most people have a strong interest in conserving birds; however, the monk parakeets of Hyde Park are not that lucky. While there are those who have the birds’ interest uppermost, there are others, such as Commowealth Edison, who consider them pests and are notorious for removing the bird’s stick-nests, only to have the birds rebuild their nest a few days later. According to Mark Spreyer, director of the Stillman Nature Center in Barrington and an expert on monk parakeets, what may prove more beneficial than a game of "cat and mouse" is placing a structure in neighborhood trees to attract the birds to nest in those. Spreyer notes that a large laundry basket, filled with twigs and suspended in a tree, has been successful for attracting great horned owls, and that these owls are known to use abandoned monk parakeet nests.

Chicago’s Urban Wildlife Melting Pot

Some animals adapt very well to the urban environment while others decrease in number and variety. After a generation of urban living, some animals have shown a loss of the survival skills necessary for life in the wild. Urban raccoons do fairly well; they live longer than their wilderness counterparts, though they tend to be smaller than their rural cousins. But foxes, according to Chris Anchor, Wildlife Biologist for the Cook County Forest Preserve District, "typically use their acute sense of smell and hearing for survival in the wild. However, studies have found that foxes residing in urban setting have decreased sense [of smell]."

For some lucky species, the artificial canyons and corridors of Chicago are almost identical to the wild landscape they adapted to long ago. As urbanization continues, our urban environment will surely remain home to several species of wildlife.

Raccoons are one of the most successful urban colonizers, because they tolerate human activity. Raccoons most frequently seek out attics, garage rafters, crawl spaces or sun decks as isolated, safe places to have their young. By mid-June, when the young are old enough to climb, the family will seek a den closer to a food source. When weaned, the young will begin foraging.

Skunks can be a great benefit to gardeners because they consume a wide variety of insects, grubs, and gypsy moth caterpillars. Skunks are peaceful animals that will usually walk calmly away when disturbed, provided that you don’t overreact. They spray only as a last resort, when they feel seriously threatened.

Opossums are among the least troublesome mammals on the urban scene, but should they decide to den under a porch, they may make nocturnal raids on the compost heap or pet dishes. They are, however, very wary and can be scared off quite easily by opening the nearest door. Opossums are marsupials, which means they carry their young in a pouch until the youngsters are old enough to cling to their mother’s back as she forages for food.

Squirrels sometimes seek out an attic as a safe location to have their young. But after about six weeks, when the young are able to leave the nest, the entire family will move to a summer nest in the trees. This is the time to repair attic openings to prevent a recurrence, since squirrels usually have two litters a year.

While it is not terribly unusual to see a coyote during the day, (they have been spotted on Lake Shore Drive) they are chiefly nocturnal animals. In fact, the most revealing sign of the coyote is their beautiful night-time serenade which consists of long howls and short, sharp, high-pitched barks. Other members of the dog family bark under certain circumstances, but the coyote barks for the pure pleasure. According to Chris Anchor, Wildlife Biologist for the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the coyote, like the deer and Canadian goose, "has maxed out its primary habitat and [is] now occupying secondary habitats...along waterways, railroads, park district green belts, and backyards. The coyote is an incredibly opportunistic animal that has learned to survive in the wild and suburbia. And because [coyotes] are so secretive and adaptable, they can live next door to you without you knowing." While the number of coyotes has increased in Illinois since the 1950s, Anchor adds that the population has been stable for the last five years. "Coyotes are self limiting and do not overpopulate."

According to Anchor, coyotes kill animals who are in direct competition for their sources of food, especially the red fox. However, once the coyote kills the fox, it leaves the prey for other predators. In a study done by Wiley Buck, a graduate student of Wildlife Conservation at the University of Minnesota, he found that the diet of coyotes in the metro Chicago region consists mainly of rabbit and deer. Coyotes have almost never been known to harm people. Keston Woodyatt, wildlife specialist at Willowbrook Wildlife Center says that coyote attacks on humans are rare. The majority of attacks occur when people try to hand-feed the animals. If you give them an exit when they are cornered, they will take it.

Peregrine falcons are naturally cliff dwelling birds, so it is not unusual to find nests on skyscraper ledges or tall towers. Nesting in Chicago also has other advantages. The skyscrapers are situated along Lake Michigan, a waterway which, according to Mary Hennon, Research Coordinator of the Chicago Peregrine Release and Restoration Project, "funnels numerous prey species through the spring and fall migration." Chicago also provides an ample supply of winter food such as pigeons and starlings and is free of natural predators such as the great horned owl. The only threat to the city dwelling peregrines comes from other adult peregrines attempting to establish territories.

Wildlife Rehabitation

The challenges of sharing the urban landscape have inevitably resulted in conflicts between people and urban wildlife. When wildlife encroach on "our" territory, we call them pests and try to get rid of them. To get rid of them humanely, we are turning increasingly to wildlife rehabilitators. "The need for wildlife rehabilitators exists because we have created the need," explains Elaine Thrune, President of the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association. Rehabilitators are responsible, of course, for giving animals proper medical and nursing attention and returning them to the wild. But they also raise public awareness and educate the public about the need to help wildlife survive our never-ending encroachment on their land.

Unfortunately, all rehabilitators concur that releasing animals is becoming difficult. In Cook County, the Forest Preserve System no longer allows rehabilitators to randomly release wildlife in the preserve because of overcrowding. As a result, rehabilitators must find private landowners who are willing to share their property with wildlife. Carol Wroblewski, founder of Wildlife Guardians in Glendale Heights, happily admits that the success rate is higher when animals are released on private property, since the animals are less likely to be near traffic and congestion.

Most wildlife agencies, on the other hand, manage wildlife populations only insofar as they serve hunting constituencies. For example, in Illinois, if a raccoon is released alive, it must be within one hundred yards of where it was captured. Under such circumstances, an urban raccoon will immediately return to the exact location where it was extracted. Then, labeled a nuisance animal, it will most likely be killed.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources states that since there are fewer places to free raccoons and their numbers have grown tremendously in Chicago and the suburbs, there is only one alternative: to kill them. Yet, according to the Department of Natural Resources statistics, the raccoon population has decreased in the last few years; by 20 percent in 1997 and 30 percent in 1998.

According to wildlife advocate Davida Terry, " The Illinois Department of Natural Resources does not want to deal with wildlife, except to kill them." What’s worse, she says, is that their methods of killing, which include choking raccoons to death, "are outdated by 300 years."

Wildlife rehabilitars agree that most species could survive if the laws of nature prevailed, but in the cities and suburbs, at least, they don’t. Eighty to 90 percent of the animals and birds that are treated are orphaned and injured because of human activity. They’re mangled by lawnmowers, orphaned by automobiles, maimed in cat attacks, poisoned, stunned by collision with windows or power lines, or otherwise victim to technological perils. These animals have suffered because of the human landscape.

What Can You Do

To prevent problems before they start, do the following:

• Remove any possible food sources and tightly close garbage cans to prevent "easy meals" and thus help wildlife maintain their foraging skills.

• Make checks on exterior surfaces, sealing any cracks and holes.

• Seal off vent shafts and cap chimneys.

To help proactively, do the following:

• Provide water with a bird bath or shallow dish of water.

• Plant trees and plants that provide natural foods year round for birds and small mammals.

• Set up brush piles to provide cover for rabbits and birds.

• Stop using chemical fertilizes and herbicides.

• Schedule tree trimming when it is not nesting season.

• Keep an eye on wild babies — from a distance. Do not intervene unless you spot the mother’s dead body or the young one is obviously injured, ill, cold, or starving. More than three quarters of the young animals "rescued" by well-intentioned people did not need help. Fledging birds need to spend up to two weeks on the ground waiting for their feathers to finish coming in, learning to fly, and learning what to eat. So before you make a decision to rescue baby wildlife, observe the animal from a distance for two hours. If the baby has its eyes open, is fully furred, and is walking around, it probably just strayed too far from its foraging mother. The parents usually are not far away.

Most important: never touch a wild animal. Wild animals are afraid of humans and will bite if they feel threatened. A wild animal that allows you to touch him or her may be sick.

For centuries, human actions have greatly intensified the suffering of the world. Now our actions, especially the destruction of natural habitats, are posing a threat to the planet’s basic ecosystem. In The Coyote, Francois Leydet writes, "We talk about the necessity to control coyote populations. But we accept the doubling every twenty or thirty years of the population of mankind (sic). We damn the coyote as a merciless killer. Yet, we demonstrate an increasing inability to cope with the violence in ourselves."

We have infiltrated much of wildlife’s natural habitat and have forced them to live in close proximity to us. Some of us may, as a result, develop a deep empathy for wildlife, Others may not. In either case, we owe the animals tolerance and coexistence. As Albert Schweitzer once wrote, "It is man’s sympathy with all creatures that first makes him truly a man."

For a wildlife rehabilitator near you, contact the Willowbrook Wildlife Center at 630-942-6200.

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