The video wouldn't come up for me for some reason but the audio was quite
clear. These folks give humans a bad name. There are no redeeming qualities
in their actions (or statements).
I would like to point out that nuisance animal problems are, at their most
basic level, human problems. If you provide habitat for animals, they will
live there whether it is a wildlife refuge or your backyard. Unfortunately,
it is not always going to be the "good" animals that take up residence. I
take well over 100 phone calls a year regarding "nuisance animals" and other
than those that involve non-native and invasive species, my advice can usually
be summed up with "leave the animal alone and correct the real problem".
Sometimes that means fencing, sometimes it means change the species of plants
that you have in the garden, sometimes it means keep your home in good repair
so that animals can't get in. It always means that the human has to change
their behavior in order to get along with the animal.
On the positive side, every once in awhile I get a call from an enlightened
individual. One of my favorites was from the lady who originally called
asking how to get rid of rats in her wood pile. When I explained that the
rodent in question could be any of a number of species ranging from Norway
rats to native woodrats, she became interested in knowing what species she
had. Two weeks later she called to say that she did an experiment that I
recommended to see if they were woodrats and had photos proving that they were
native. Her next question was what could she do to increase her woodrat
population because she wanted to attract more ratsnakes to her yard to help
control a house sparrow problem. She now calls me about every 6 months to
give me an update on her increasingly diverse suburban refuge.
Rob Denkhaus
Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge
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