OT: Wild Animals

[BlueDragon]

And feeding wild animals is illegal in Florida: http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/manag ... penalties/

Here in Arizona, state law says you can feed birds and "tree squirrels," and nothing else. (I think the reason they allow feeding tree squirrels is that if you are feeding birds it is near impossible to keep the squirrels away.)

[chunkyfrog]

Our organic garden has attracted wildlife, including woodchucks, raccoons, and possums. We were only able to get one possum in our live trap, but it got a "long ride in the country." I put cayenne powder on the bite marks on the watermelons, which deterred them somewhat. If you garden, plant enough for everybody.

[CPAPSteve]

feral offense

Freudian slip?

Bah iPhone auto correct! I often go back to posts to edit them because some of the words make absolutely no sense and given how small a phone screen is that I don’t always see all the mistakes.

[Grace~~~]

Thank you everyone for all the replies. I'm sure I wouldn't have "reached out for advice" if I didn't already know the answer. It's easier to hear it from strangers than from someone who I could actively resent for having a different POV from my own.

My two acres has a dozen or so very old (100 yr+) live oaks and a handful more huge laurel oaks and other other trees and so there's about a half acre all interconnected way up in the sky that has it's own habitat and world. In addition to the counties wetlands next door.

I regularly have turtles coming up from the lake and laying eggs. I have all sorts of egrets and cranes and hawks and eagles and so many birds. I've always had squirrels, rabbits, snakes, armadillos, possum, raccoons, alligators ... I feed the birds, I have an area far from the house where I throw non-meat scraps, I have gardens and berries and fruit trees ... but it's always been balanced.

I only recently started caring for first an injured sandhill crane when he and his mate that literally came to me desperate for help. His beak was broken (probably by a car) and I feared he would be put down if I called "authorities". It has healed (albeit crooked) and I think he will survive. And then a second animal, a kitten. The young neighbor girl and I trapped it, spayed it, gave it all of it's shots and found a home for it.

...but it escaped and somehow found its way back to me.

In my entire life, nearly half a century ... I have never purposely killed anything that wasn't actually biting me like a mosquito. And I try not to kill mosquitoes as I feel myself mourn them and hate the self talk that I could just kill for my own convenience. I never strike out or stomp or purposely kill, not an ant, not a spider or roach. I am very fast and can and will catch anything and put it outside. I will stop on the bike trail and circle around to keep a worm from cooking on the concrete. Everyone, from as far back as my birth has a story about me and animals. So many stories have piled up in all of these years. So I know not to feed anything (openly and overtly though I do PLANT for wildlife) as it will only lead to it's death.

So, I've caught this recent issue fairly quickly.

Last night was scary as I had raccoons, possum, then a bobcat, on the deck and the large gator was croaking very loud - much closer than usual. Within the last week there was a bear and coyotes. I have never seen such large wildlife but they have recently cleared / razed to the ground, a huge area for new construction.

It's just escalated very quickly. There was a fight about a week ago and my cousin convinced me that maybe if there was more food they wouldn't fight. I knew better. But I let him put out a little more food in the hope that if everyone were content there would not be a fight and maybe that little cat would be safer. It's shocking what has come out of the darkness.

I guess I just need to immediately stop putting out even the bird seed and figure out how to catch that cat again and just let everyone else try to find their way to more wild land.

I'm still conflicted deep down.

There's a beautiful Orthodox Church (St. George) in downtown Orlando on Lake Eola that has all of it's neighbors and officials FURIOUS because they keep feeding the homeless and those opposed say it is just causing more homeless to come and junk up the parks.

I know I have to close my eyes and ears and think about something else because I can't fix this ... but it's hard not to feed the innocent and hungry.

Thanks for your help. For reminding me.
I am not well enough to fight the trouble I know my good intentions will bring.

[ChicagoGranny]

Last night was scary as I had raccoons, possum, then a bobcat, on the deck and the large gator was croaking very loud - much closer than usual.

The gator thinks the possum is a nice snack.

[Julie]

And the crane could have used a VETERINARIAN! You have no idea how well or not it's going to do now - whether or not it will eat properly, feed babies safely, defend itself...

[Grace~~~]

I wish I could have believed that, Julie.
With ALL of my heart ~~~

I've been an animal lover and born and raised in Florida and have been devastated many times by "happy ending Disney Story dreams".

About a month ago the young girl next door called me to tell me that another neighbor was "trapped in her house by an alligator". By the time I got there (2 minutes) there were about 15 people with cameras and the authorities had been called.

The alligator was trying to hide up against the garage door. I told everyone that I knew I could get him back on to my property and in to the lake. I am SURE that I could have. He had actually been chased up in to that yard while trying to cross the street to the neighboring lake when he was spotted by someone and tried to hide.

I was totally outnumbered by people who were worried about their pets and wanted him relocated to a safer place.

The "rescuers" came. Caught him in an instant, taped him up. One lady asked where he'd be relocated to?
... he laughed and said "a restaurant".

I should have made everyone hate me. Ignored them.
I could have grabbed my tractor and guided him right back in to that lake but then everyone would have been SURE they were in danger and probably reported and reported until they got all of the alligators killed.

I used to believe there would be rescue vets.

Maybe they have them in other places?
Here all you get is platitudes about "the kindest thing we can do is end it's suffering".

I cannot tell you the countless times my heart has been broken and the tears I have shed.

[ChicagoGranny]

Jain?

[Grace~~~]

CG ~~~

When I first "discovered" Jainism, and even Buddhism in my teens I felt as if I had found my way home. It was the sweetest peace and most beautiful thought I had ever felt. For many decades I had an uneasy balance defending my right (in the Bible Belt) to study and even practice more 'Eastern' thought while still declaring that it was "not a religion", and that I was a Christian.

When I was diagnosed with stage IIIc ... I spent all of my life force trying to resolve this question. For *me* I was blessed to find Eastern Orthodoxy and the most amazing and learned Priest who showed me that there was no conflict within me at all.

(... though there's definitely conflict with 'others' who would like to engage me ...and "save" me, straighten me out.)

[chunkyfrog]

Grace, your faith is personal, and should be what YOU choose--otherwise, it cannot be truly yours.

With reference to the restaurant crack:
Restaurants are often restricted to serving only farmed gators.
Wild ones cannot be guaranteed to be safe eating. (Health departments--meh)
Note, I never heard about anybody dying from eating wild meat.
Unless it ate him first

[Grace~~~]

Hi ChunkyFrog ~~~

Well these two Florida cowboys were overly rough. (IMO) and I think they liked performing for the crowd. I think most if not all gathered really believed that if they called "the authorities", that they were just going to relocate him. I hope if faced with this again they will just go back in to their gated communities and new houses and let the gator cross the road. Or that at least ONE heart was touched by his unnecessary death and will not "make the call" if in the situation again.

The Cracker Cowboys (I say in a loving Florida Girl way) - definitely said it was going to a restaurant. I have no hope that that baby was anything but doomed.

Later, I realized that I probably could have paid them off to release him back in my lake.
If I am ever faced with that again I will try! I would have given them a $100 bill in a heart beat.

I guess I hope he was eaten and not just killed and thrown in the garbage.
It's the better option.

[colomom]

You are clearly a kind soul Grace. While your feeding wild animals is well intended, in the long run your actions will hurt the wild animals.
I to am an animal lover I have saved numerous stray feral kittens and once found homes for a liter of puppies abandoned in a ditch by the side of the road.

When wild animals venture onto my property they find no easy food sources. Trash goes out the morning of pickup, I have no birdfeeders; and the garden, fruit trees, and chickens are protected by electric fence. When coyotes, bears, bobcats, and mountain lions venture onto my property I haze them in hopes I can undo the damage my neighbors have done by feeding wild animals. Most of the time loud noise does the trick, but we have had to resort to rubber bullets for a couple of aggressive bears. I could tell you many stories about the numerous bears and mountain lions that I have seen destroyed because they were deemed dangerous by the DOW. Everyone loves seeing a bear, bobcat, coyote, or mountain lion in their yard at first. Once little Timmy is stared down on his way home by a coyote or mountain lion and the the neighborhood cats and small dogs start disappearing your neighbors will start calling for blood.
Wild animals can feed themselves. While your heart is in the right place when you feed them, destroying their natural fear of humans in the long run will hurt the animals you clearly care deeply about.

[chunkyfrog]

"Northwoods Law" on Animal Planet is my new addiction.
Game wardens have such interesting jobs.

[Grace~~~]

Thanks Colomom ~~~

That's why I "outed myself" here last night. It's actually been VERY helpful getting this feedback. More helpful that it is coming from strangers. (interesting 2018 phenomena ?)

If I had this conversation with neighbors I think I would have resented the neighbors I already don't particularly like, and even family and friends I don't really want to hear their lecture as my brain might immediately come back with something I'd like to lecture them about. LOL ...and that leads nowhere!

This internet stuff does have it's uses and I am really really grateful to have had a chance to "confess" and repent. Thank you again to all who have helped me.

It's not too late here yet but I have already had one raccoon impatiently pacing my deck tonight. I won't be feeding even the birds again any time soon. (Though I can't promise to never buy bird seed again. I love having birds everywhere.)

I could never ever shoot anything even with rubber bullets and I can't imagine the circumstances that would allow me to chase away and scare anything unless I thought it was heading toward a hunter?

... but I already knew when I first posted that I would stop feeding.
That I can promise. So let it be written. So let it be done!

I still have that cat issue. I need to catch her again but I will not give her back to the person who "let her escape". I can't believe the cat was taken to her in a car almost 2 miles away and found it's way back here to me~~~

My life right now is not conducive to me taking on a young cat. She really IS pretty but definitely wild to just this side of feral.

When I was young that is how my first boss described me once. LOL He warned some guys my age about me saying "getting close to Grace is like trying to rescue an alley-cat from a swimming pool". I was still in my teens and I always wondered how he knew?

[chunkyfrog]

I was about to suggest you could volunteer to foster orphan kittens or puppies--or even rehab wild babies; but I understand that sometimes things don't work out that way.