Wildlife around you

[Debp]

First of all, by "wildlife", I mean animals!  In some of our suburban areas of Los Angeles we have coyotes, bears, and during some months we have rattlesnakes.   Some suburban parks even have mountain lions...when sighted those trails are closed as they are quite dangerous and they have wounded and even killed some people that were jogging or on bikes.

But would you believe, because of the drought small packs of coyotes have even been spotted in the city of Los Angeles in the evenings!!  One area is called Hancock Park...an area of affluent homes....the coyotes come there regularly and people need to beware of them while walking their dogs.  Some people got a very shrill "horn" to blow at them.

Now that we had the very big Griffith Park fire (largest urban wilderness park in the USA), more animals are coming into some areas of the city.

Oh, one funny story about a bear....it kept coming and getting into someone's jaccuzi hot tub.  He was on the news alot.    Finally, they had to put it in a zoo...he has his own pool there.

[Soldier4Christ]

We have three ducks that come in my yard almost daily. One mallard and two hens. The city lagoon which is just three blocks from me has cranes and a blue herring now and then. Naturally we have Canadian Geese about twice a year that swarms there also. We also have a family of raccoons and some ground hogs. On the edge of the city we have a family of red foxes and a lot of coyotes. We also have squirrel and rabbits that come up that my wife puts food out for.

Nothing here as big as the bear or mountain lions though.

[Faithin1]

For many years, we had a family of rabbits at the very end of the yard.  However, they haven't been seen lately.  We frequently have 3 or 4 deer in the yard.  They continue to develop in this area (residential & retail), so the poor deer are losing all of their habitat.  I saw one the other day on the ramp to the Beltway.  He looked so confused.  My heart aches for them, especially the babies.

[Debp]

We have three ducks that come in my yard almost daily. One mallard and two hens. The city lagoon which is just three blocks from me has cranes and a blue herring now and then. Naturally we have Canadian Geese about twice a year that swarms there also. We also have a family of raccoons and some ground hogs. On the edge of the city we have a family of red foxes and a lot of coyotes. We also have squirrel and rabbits that come up that my wife puts food out for.

Nothing here as big as the bear or mountain lions though.

I enjoy the ducks, too.  I don't get to MacArthur Park too often anymore, but there are lots of ducks there.  It's just several  blocks from me.  I can remember the Canadian geese flying in a V back when I lived in PA.  Just curious, what state are you in, Pastor Roger?

[Debp]

For many years, we had a family of rabbits at the very end of the yard.  However, they haven't been seen lately.  We frequently have 3 or 4 deer in the yard.  They continue to develop in this area (residential & retail), so the poor deer are losing all of their habitat.  I saw one the other day on the ramp to the Beltway.  He looked so confused.  My heart aches for them, especially the babies.

Poor things....they are so sweet, too.  I hope your city or town will set aside some parklands for them before everything gets too built up.  Maybe some residents should ask for this before it's too late?  Makes it nicer for the residents, too, to have greenery, etc.

[Soldier4Christ]

I'm in Illinois.

We have whitetail deer here. Many of them get hit every year as they cross the roads from the river to the fields and wooded areas. My sister and her husband used to own a farm before they retired. I loved going out there and just sitting in their yard as they had a large amount of wildlife in their yard all the time. They had a small pond in the back that drew them all in.

[islandboy]

In our area of Florida, one might spot a rattlesnake if lucky or unlucky as the saying goes. For the most part they are pretty scarce as with all the new developments their habitat is being destroyed. In my yard I have many gray squirrels, a family of swamp rabbits (tiny short ears), and raccoons, armadillo, great horned owls, hawks, tiny lizards, nonpoisonous snakes, songbirds.

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

I feel very fortunate to live within several blocks of the HUGE Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. I said that we live within blocks, and we do, but that would be as the crow flies. We run into a large fence, and we have to drive about 18 miles to get around it. By the way, I would want to drive around it because part of it is the West Range of Fort Sill, and they practice fairly frequently.

The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge has over 30 lakes, and it is a gorgeous place in a rugged sort of way. The idea is to leave almost all of it like it was 100s of years ago, and that goal has been reached with the exception of a few roads, buildings used by Refuge Staff for various purposes, and dams on several lakes.

We have herds of buffalo, deer, elk, and all kinds of animals who live in protected peace (wild turkeys, pigs, many birds, etc.). It's against the law to leave anything on the Refuge or take anything from it, so the vast expanse of it is wild. It's all fenced and the few entrances have cattle guards. It's a little bit late in the year to see tons of baby animals, but visitors can see all kinds of very young animals. In fact, many of the animals are rare. I've lived here all of my life, and I still love to visit the refuge to enjoy GOD'S Creation. In terms of wild animals coming into town, they usually only do that during times of drought or hunger. The refuge is an ideal place for them, and our rangers try to help the animals during hard times. However, they let nature take care of most things about 98% of the time. They do have limited programs for sick or diseased animals, most specifically diseases that could effect the safety of people. Their programs involving food and water also address the ultimate safety of people.

We do have mountain lions, bobcats, a very small number of bears, and maybe a tiny number of other predatory animals that would be a danger to people all of the time. Most of the people who have been hurt or killed on the refuge were doing very stupid things to wildlife in violation of refuge rules and and law. My family has camped on the refuge numerous times with wildlife all around us and never any big problems with animals except for keeping them out of our food. I'm biased, but I think we have some of the most beautiful camping sites in the country. We have a small number of sites with water and electricity, but the vast number are semi-primitive with nothing but a concrete table and a place to cook made out of rock. Then there are the really pretty places with nothing. Everything requires a permit and a tiny fee except just driving through. Nearly everything, except main roads, is closed to any vehicle traffic during hours of darkness. I'll stop now and end by saying it's a beautiful place.

[Soldier4Christ]

That sounds like the Wildlife Prairie Park that is about 30 to 35 miles from me. Most of it is much like it was many years ago. All prairie and all natural with much of it being off limits for visitors to see up close although being prairie a person can see for many miles away. There is a small portion of it close to the entrance that has animals not native to this area such as lions and giraffes. Some of these are animals that came from zoo's that closed down and had no other place to go. The prairie being much like their own natural surroundings in Africa made it easy to set up a natural location for them here.

[nChrist]

All of our animals are native with the possible exception of one: longhorn cattle. I don't know the entire story on the longhorn cattle herd on the refuge, but they've been there all of my life as far as I know.

I didn't mention that many of the animals are loose in unfenced areas within the refuge, so the speed limits are rightfully low. My wife and I have parked many times to enjoy the animals and ended up with all kinds of animals close to our car. That really what we wanted, and all you have to do is turn everything off and be quiet. The animals are far from domesticated, but they are protected to the extent that they don't have much fear of people. Some of the buffalo and longhorn get huge, and they are quite capable of tearing a car completely up.

The Ranger Staff does separate some of the animals during birthing season to help more of the little ones survive. Their management techniques change, so I can't explain it. I'll simply say that there are times when many little ones can be seen with their mothers - mainly buffalo, deer, and elk. They also have to separate various kinds of animals - probably to protect them. By the way, there are horrendous fines for anyone doing a long list of things to the animals. People aren't supposed to feed them at all, but nothing much is said about people feeding the prairie dogs. You can walk right up to many of them, and some will even eat out of your hand.

I don't know how large the refuge is, but I do know that parts of it are over 40 miles long. I'll guess that it's about 40 miles long and 20 miles wide. All of the trees and vegetation are completely native and natural. Nearly all construction was done many years ago by the WPA, and that includes what's called the Holy City of the Wichitas. That's the scene of the longest running Passion Play (Easter) in the world. The setting is huge and naturally seats over 20,000 people. The Holy City also includes a gorgeous church and a massive statue called the Christ of the Wichitas. YES - the ACLU has tried to get rid of this several times, but they failed. Church is also still held there. All of the buildings are in the style of the WPA - concrete with reinforced steel and native rock, so one would need dynamite to knock any of them down.

Brother, I've been to places like you describe, and I always enjoy them.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Wildlife Prairie park has the African animals separated and in fences of their own and so are the more dangerous ones like the coyotes but all of the ones that are passive toward each other like the buffalo and white tailed deer are all together in acres upon acres of natural prairie grass fields. There is a monorail ride that goes out over it all so that people can see them. There is a natural type fence that keeps them from wandering out into the nearby farmers fields and a really big man made fence to keep people from wandering in. When they decided to make this area they had also decided to keep people contact to a bare minimum with most animals. There is a petting corral where they have a few of them that are very docile.

They do have a nursery also to insure a larger survival rate of the young. When they reach a certain age they will be displayed for short periods behind a glass enclosure then a little older they are released in the open fields.

[nChrist]

Brother Roger,

That sounds like a beautiful place, one that I would like to visit some day. My wife and I love to watch animals, and I just remembered that the main purpose of this thread was animals in your yard.

We feed and water animals most of the time, so we usually have squirrels, rabbits, and all kinds of really pretty birds. We have two huge trees in the back yard that are used by the birds and squirrels. We have a squirrel feeder attached to the tree, and I'll say that many of them make absolute hogs out of themselves.   

[Soldier4Christ]

We have one squirrel that comes to my bedroom window when it wants fed. Then meets me at the front door when I take something out for it.

[Shammu]

Lets see, I get to see........... Pumas, Bald Eagles, Bears, Coyotes, Snakes (to many to name) Deer, Elk, Woodpeckers, Lizards, Horses, Cattle, Prairie dogs, Squirrels, Bats, Owls, Wild pigs, Bats, and Ducks.  Sorry thats all I can remember at the moment.

[nChrist]

Lets see, I get to see........... Pumas, Bald Eagles, Bears, Coyotes, Snakes (to many to name) Deer, Elk, Woodpeckers, Lizards, Horses, Cattle, Prairie dogs, Squirrels, Bats, Owls, Wild pigs, Bats, and Ducks.  Sorry thats all I can remember at the moment.

   That's OK Grisly Adams, mountain men aren't known for a good memory, especially after being swatted around by a bear a couple of times. Now, if you just have some of those animals trained to bring you food, you've got it made. You probably even have a guard bear and never have to worry about burglars.   

Just kidding.... I've heard you talk about your place several times, and I can almost imagine it. I'd love to have a quiet place in the mountains or out in the country, just as long as it was reasonably close to medical and other services - maybe 20 minutes away. I think that would be habit forming - especially the quiet, views, and the wildlife.