Home Septic System Care High-Efficiency Toilets Visiting Wildlife Change A Light Pets & Pollution

 

 

 

Donate

Co-existing with coyotes.

Living with bats.

On being a skunk neighbor.

Figuring out how to live with a variety of animals!

More on what to do if you find a baby animal.

Report your turtle sightings and help a turtle conservation project!

 

 

Are Neponset Wildlife in Your Yard or House?

3 Articles on Baby Animals, Bats 

& Other Species

Suggestions from experts on dealing with visiting Neponset wildlife

Let it be: When you find a 'lost' baby animal, leave it alone

By Linda Lombardi/FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Daily News Transcript

Posted Apr 03, 2008 @ 08:12 PM at http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/lifestyle/x874322493

It's human nature - who can ignore a helpless baby? But if that baby is a wild animal sitting in your backyard, the best way to help it probably is to leave it alone, wildlife experts say.

Many well-intentioned people can do more harm than good by trying to help baby animals that appear to be abandoned. In most cases, they are not.

A mother rabbit, for example, may visit her nest just twice a day. A baby bird on the ground may be perfectly fine. Cindy Reyes, hospital manager at the California Wildlife Center in Calabasas, Calif., says baby birds learn to fly from the ground - which makes a lot more sense than taking the first plunge from a nest high in a tree.

"If it's got all of its body feathers, maybe a little bit of fluff, but it's completely covered with feathers, that's probably a fledgling bird," she says. "The parents care for them on the ground."

However, a naked, featherless baby bird does need to be put back in the nest. Don't let a common myth mislead you: It's not true that babies will be rejected due to their smell once a human has touched them.

"Birds have a very poor sense of smell," says Kathleen Handley of the Second Chance Wildlife Center of Gaithersburg, Md. And animals wouldn't nest in our yards if they disliked human scent so much, she says.

You can use gloves, or scoop the bird into a container to move it. If you can't find or reach the nest, Reyes suggests making a substitute of a plastic container lined with soft fabric or tissues. You can attach it to a tree; the birds will usually find it and care for the baby there, she says.

(Don't use a birdhouse - the birds may not find the baby, and some species don't nest in enclosed spaces.)

This may seem chancy, but it's more likely to help the animal survive in the long run.

Wildlife rehabilitators can heal injuries, but they're no substitute for animal parents because they can't teach babies how to be successful members of their own species in the wild. And when people raise an animal for a while and then decide to give it up, it often doesn't work, she says.

"(The animals are) so bonded to humans that they can't be released," she says. "It's dangerous. They end up running up to people, and they get frustrated, and they'll bite."

A dangerous animal may have to be euthanized.

It's also illegal to keep native species as pets in most places, and many animals don't tolerate captivity well as adults.

More good reason to trust in nature: Rehabilitators' permits, typically issued by various branches of government, don't allow them to keep animals permanently, only to treat them and care for them until they can be released back into their natural habitats.

And there aren't enough spaces in nature centers or zoos to place even a small percentage - Second Chance in Maryland takes in up to 5,000 animals in a single year.

So the right course in most cases is simply not to intervene when you see a baby animal on its own. Hanging around may actually delay this reunion.

"People have to leave," Reyes says. "They can't be standing over the baby or the parent won't return - even if it sees you standing at the window."

There is an exception to the don't-interfere rule: When a baby is clearly injured, with bleeding or a broken limb, it needs help. Don't feed it. Instead, call a rehabilitator for advice, even before attempting to move it.

Your local animal shelter can usually help you find an expert, or go to the Web site of the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, http://www.nwrawildlife.org/home.asp.

Generally, the best way to help wildlife is to make your yard a hospitable place: Keep pet cats indoors, plant a wildlife habitat garden, and be careful when you prune, since birds and squirrels could be nesting.

 

Balancing Wildlife with Domestic

By Nancy Bersani, Town of Milton Animal Control Department

March 7, 2007 - www.Miltontimes.com


 I have seen deer, raccoons, opossums, foxes, coyotes, wild turkeys and even a fisher in Milton. Wildlife, on the whole, does not pose any risk to humans. Humans pose a greater risk to wildlife. Many people love Milton for its wooded back yards and proximity to the Blue Hills. These are wildlife habitats and have been for centuries.

The calls we get from residents generally rise in late winter and late spring. People tend to see more animals at these times as they are breeding and giving birth. Many of our calls are about coyotes. There are many myths surrounding this animal. Coyotes are not nocturnal. Seeing one during the day does not mean it is sick. In order to survive, wild animals have learned to fear and stay away from people. As we take away more and more of their habitats by building new homes they are forced to live closer to us. Coyotes and other wildlife spend a lot of time looking for food. They are opportunistic eaters. If there are open trash barrels, compost heaps, pet food, bird feeders, grease traps on grills, or other food sources left out, the animals will come. It is our job to make our properties uninviting for wildlife.

Last summer we got numerous calls about a young deer in people’s backyards and in the street. It turns out people had been feeding this deer which began losing its fear of people. This put the animal in grave danger. When it got older people stopped feeding it thereby eliminating its main food source. It began coming out of the woods and into the streets. The deer as well as people were now at risk as cars were swerving to avoid her.

Another myth is that some wildlife live to attack and harm humans and pets. The documented cases of wild animals biting humans have shown these animals were sick. Healthy wildlife try hard to avoid humans; their survival depends on it. There are animals and birds of prey that will see some pets as a food source. They don’t distinguish between wild rabbits and cats or occasionally a small dog. Although people are quick to blame coyotes, there are many other animals who will take a pet if their food supply is low. Great Horned Owls and some hawks can easily pick up a small animal in their talons. Both of these species live in Milton. At one time a lot of deer were being killed at the Quabbin Reservoir. It turned out that 50-60 percent of the deer were killed by domestic dogs allowed to run loose; 10 percent were killed by coyotes for food; and the rest were killed by bobcats (another species found in Massachusetts). We have also picked up deceased cats and dogs that had been hit by cars yet managed to get to a yard before succumbing to their injuries. People assume if the animal is found dead on their property that another animal was responsible.

Another species of wildlife has recently taken up residence in Milton. The fisher (also called a fisher cat in New England) is a member of the weasel family. They are great tree climbers and are the only known predator of porcupines. Like the coyote they are not nocturnal. The fisher has been known to kill cats, poultry, and pet rabbits if they are easily available and other food sources are scarce. They can also be attracted to bird feeders as the feeders attract squirrels which in turn attract fishers.

Some residents don’t understand why these animals that may prey on pets can’t be eliminated by humans. Nature is an amazing thing. It has a definite balance that when interrupted by humans will either cause problems or adapt. If coyotes and fishers along with birds of prey were eliminated, we would be overrun with rats, mice and other rodents. The predators keep these species in check. Also if a species’ numbers are lowered the females will begin to have larger litters. Territorial animals like coyotes and fishers will move quickly into an area where others have been eliminated. This is nature and we can easily coexist with very little effort on our part.

Eliminate all potential food sources, cut down brush close to your house, use outdoor lights at varying times and if you do see an animal make loud noises to chase it away.

Keep your pet cats inside. We at the animal shelter will not let cats go to homes where they will be allowed outside. Predators are the least of the dangers facing pets. Cars, poisons, illnesses contracted outdoors, and other domestic animals harm or kill pets much more frequently.

Make poultry houses and outdoor rabbit hutches secure so that no animal can get to them.

Do not leave any animal outside unsupervised. Small dogs especially are vulnerable to attacks by other loose dogs or wildlife entering their yard. Electric fences offer no protection from any animal entering the property and we have taken in countless loose dogs for which this type of fence is ineffective.

Never feed wildlife. If you see an abandoned baby animal, call Animal Control at 617-698-0455.

 

 

Bats in the Belfry

Mass Wildlife e-news, July 24, 2007

 

With summer’s hot, humid weather, some Bay State homeowners may discover bats residing in their home! Attics are the most common portion of a house in which bats roost and raise their young. After a few hot summer days, an attic may become too warm for the bats, forcing them out and sometimes into people's living quarters as they search for cooler places to roost. Inexperienced young bats may fall down a chimney, fly in open windows or down attic stairs. What's a homeowner to do? Fortunately, a single bat flying in a room can usually be dealt with quite easily. Open an outside window or door in the room containing the bat and close off the rest of the room from the house. It's usually only a matter of a few minutes of circling before the bat locates the open window and leaves the house. Bats do not attack people or fly into people's hair.

If a bat has landed, it can be assisted out of a house in several ways. For a bat on a curtain, place a jar, coffee can or small box over the bat, carefully working the animal into the container, and cover it. A bat on the floor can be covered with a towel. Another method is to put on leather gloves and simply pick up the bat and release it outdoors-don't use cotton gloves or handle a bat with bare hands. Whatever method is used, don't worry when the bat squeaks loudly when handled. Take the bat outdoors and release it. If anyone has had direct contact with a bat or if a bat is found in a room with a sleeping person, the bat should be safely captured and not released. Contact local health officials for assistance in evaluating potential rabies risk and submitting the bat to the Department of Public Health for rabies testing.

Little Brown Bats and Big Brown Bats are the most likely species to be found in buildings. In some cases, with small numbers of bats, people don't mind their presence and concentrate on blocking holes and cracks leading into the human living quarters. Where there is a large colony in house walls, biologists recommend that homeowners wait to initiate eviction proceedings until the first week of August through November. Waiting to evict the colony allows time for young bats to mature and leave the house on their own.

Learn how to evict bats safely or live with them using "A Homeowner's Guide to Bats" booklet available from MassWildlife. This publication contains tips on handling a bat in the house, designs for one-way doors, bat house plans, and a key to identifying the nine bat species in Massachusetts. To receive a hard copy of the booklet by mail, send a business sized, self-addressed, 82 cent stamped envelope to: Bat Booklet, MassWildlife, 1 Rabbit Hill Rd, Westboro, MA 01581. Homeowners who wish to hire someone to evict a bat colony can find a list of licensed Problem Animal Control agents in the Wildlife area of MassWildlife's website.