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May 23, 2005

Uninvited Guests - The Effects Of Wildlife Encroachment

Suburban wildlife encounters are on the rise, says one expert. This isn't news to me.

My parents live in rural Vermont. They've seen all manner of wildlife in their backyard - bears, moose, deer, raccoons. Wildlife encounters in Vermont are not surprising - people expect such things.

In California, even natural areas like Yosemite have a more urban feel - and so you're often surprised when you see an animal. California has such a population that new development is constantly encroaching on wilderness territory; the animals being displaced have to go somewhere. A couple different things seem to happen - the animals are pushed farther into the uninhabited areas, they find a way to live within the developed areas, or they die.

It can be heartbreaking to watch new construction on previously undeveloped areas. Shane and I once came upon a new housing development and golf course being developed in what was previously a livestock farm in the mountains seperating the San Francisco Bay area with the Central Valley. Most of the homes were still just numbered plots, but the golf course was just about ready to open when we drove through on sunny day. What we saw was very disconcerting. Previously, the area had had your typical Central California look - golden fields, hot, hazy sunny days. The heavily watered golf course cut a heavy green swath through the otherwise dry and golden valley. Large snakes - both rattlers and gopher snakes, lay dead all over the newly paved roads. Rabbits darted back and forth, reminding me strongly of the day in the field in The Secret of NIMH. A lone deer walked past our car, and weaved its way between two large, silent bulldozers. The wildlife was fighting to keep its home, but clearly the habitat had been severely shaken. What really sent the message home for us though, were the squirrels. We parked alongside one of the lush fairway of the golf course and watched hundreds and hundreds of squirrels munch away on the new growing grass. Any small noise we made caused literally a hundred little heads to pop up and listen to us. We counted 35 little guys on just one green alone. This, we saw, was a recipe for disaster. Given all the money devoted to development of the golf course, these furry residents would ultimately be relegated to pest status, despite being the initial resident of the area. Frankly, we think that all these little critters deserve to stay - and if they dig holes or steal balls, well it should be just part of the golfing experience, like it is at Riverside Golf Course in Edmonton in Alberta, Canada.

Golfers often have to deal with the frustration of watching their golf balls swallowed up by sand traps or water hazards.

But at Riverside Golf Course in Edmonton, players have another type of obstacle to watch for – squirrels.

The furry critters regularly sprint from the bush, scoop golf balls from the green, and run off with them, particularly around the 10th and 18th holes.

More at: Thieving squirrels par for the course for Edmonton golfers

It's one thing when you're displacing deer, bunnies, squirrels and raccoons. It's a whole different ball game when you're doing it to predators. When I first came out here to California to attend university, one of the first things I was warned about were the mountain lions in the hills above campus. Residential development pushed deer and other smaller animals up into the mountains. The denser populations of prey make the perfect habitat for the mountain lion. Humans - on bikes and on hikes - make their way through mountain lion territory, resulting in more and more incidents. Humans are also another possible food source for the mountain lion. In the past several years, there have been several high profile incidents of mountain lions attacking people, including bikers and joggers, even from main roads which border undeveloped areas where the lions roam.

While they'll warn you about the possibility of encountering a mountain lion, it's still a bit of a rarity to encounter a black bear in suburban California. But not for this neighborhood down near Los Angeles...

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A 140-pound bear wandered into a suburban neighborhood and took a dip in a swimming pool before being tranquilized and returned to the wild.

More at: CNN.com - Wandering bear takes dip in family's pool

Posted by sorsha at May 23, 2005 1:55 PM