WALK WITH THE WILD SIDE
If your lifestyle brings you close to the land, sooner or later, you’ll encounter wildlife. As humans continue to encroach on wild areas — altering the natural world as we do so — wildlife encounters are becoming more frequent. Gardeners, even in urban and suburban areas, have to fend off deer, rabbits, woodchucks, and a host of other creatures. Poultry owners regularly experience run-ins with fowl-loving predators, including hawks, skunks, and raccoons. And hikers and campers, particularly in the western part of the country, are seeing more cougars, bears, wolves, bison, elk, and moose. How you react to any of these encounters could not only save your poultry, livestock, and garden, but it could also save your life.
Accept Responsibility
The increase in people-wildlife encounters is one of human design. Over time, humans have altered the environment so much that wildlife, which normally avoids people, has little choice but to interact with us. Rural farmland and forests have given way to homes and commercial buildings, pushing wild animals to the very edges of their habitats.. Some people will set out food for wild animals, usually out of a desire to see the animals up close, or concern for their wellbeing. What many people don’t realize, however, is that feeding wildlife usually does more harm than good, for a host of reasons. One of the biggest issues is that when you attract animals such as deer, rabbits, and turkeys close to your home, you’re bound to attract predators as well.
