The World is a Stage
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Tillsonburg has beautiful trails, which lure people out of their homes and back to nature, to the peace and quiet we all need to relax our minds, bodies and souls.
When you are out on the trails getting back to nature, you must remember that you could get everything nature has to offer. Not just birds or squirrels, salamanders or turtles, you must be prepared to encounter everything, including the larger denizen of the bush you are walking through.
I believe it was two or three summers ago that a bobcat was spotted on a trail, just out of town on the northeast side, and a 'cougar' was heard in town. That scared a lot of people. Meeting a raccoon is one thing, meeting a bobcat, coyote, wolf, bear, is another. Do you know what to do?
A few weeks ago, we were privileged to have three wildlife rehabilitators/educators, who have joined together to form the Coyote - Wolf - Bear Education Initiative, come to Tillsonburg. The meeting was more for wildlife rehabilitators, although a few members of the public did come. Leslie Sampson of Coyote Watch Canada was the first speaker and she addressed the conflict of coyotes and humans and discussed this exact problem with the trail systems around Ontario. Interestingly, Hannah Barron, a biologist studying wolves, and Mike McIntosh of Bear With Us, all recommend the same advice when meeting one of these animals.
The first lesson, however, comes before you actually hit the trails and that is to know your community trails and learn something about new ones you are going to try. Knowing the trails includes knowing what lives around your trails. The actual four-foot wide trail you walk or bike on may have been made for you, but the rest of the bush is home to the animals and you are literally walking on their property.
Understand nature's seasons – when animals are mating, when babies are born, and where they den, etc. This is not only for your safety but also to allow the animals, in what little bush is left in Southwestern Ontario, the chance to survive.
We know we have coyotes in the area. At some point we’ve had a bobcat, and possibly a cougar. What about wolves and bears? Well, if you are north in the Algonquin Park area, you might see wolves. But bears? Right when someone says "not in Southwestern Ontario," one wanders into London or Oakville.
One of the major causes of attacks by bears and larger animals are dogs off leash. Dogs love to catch the sent of something and go tearing off into the bush. When they realize the danger, they run back to their master. Consequently the master is often attacked. Keep your dog on a leash and close to you. Bells on collars give warning to wild animals. If you encounter a predator, pick up small children and dogs.
To run from most wild animals, entices them to give chase because that is how they normally catch their prey. So don’t run. (Jogging on trails is not smart!) Stand still and as tall as possible with arms above your head. In most cases you can stare them in the eye, (not mountain lions/cougars). Back away slowly if possible.
Wave a plastic shopping bag round, you can even make them give a popping sound. The movement and sound are foreign to the animals and they will leave. If you have a small metal tin that will fit in pocket, put some stones in it and when you encounter an animal shake it, the sound is foreign to them they will leave. Other ideas are whistles and even umbrellas opening and shutting and, if you are in bear country, you might like to go with bear spray. They are very intelligent, curious animals, they will stand on their back legs, very tall, but that is NOT an aggressive move. They do it to see and smell better. They also don’t growl, that is a sound effect from Hollywood. They do however make blowing, grunting-like noises and will stamp the ground just like a skunk.
Wildlife rehabilitators are called all the time about coyotes in backyards, or raccoons in a shed, etc. Remember these animals are in urban areas because there is food. Remove the food and the animals leave. It is a very simple rule of thumb. Bird feeders attract more than birds, raptors and all sizes of mammals come to dine at them.
Skunks, raccoons, etc., may not normally catch a lot of birds, but they can eat mice, rats, squirrels and other animals that eat seeds on the ground. Ontario has only black bears and they are mostly berry eaters, but will come for seeds. If you don’t want other visitors, get rid of the bird feeder.
If you have a tiny dog, dawn, dusk and night time, are not a good times to let it out the back door for a quick pee. Check your yard first. If you have a coyote or other animal there that shouldn’t be, beat a pot, wave your arms and scare them away. But don’t do that with a skunk!
We can all live together and need to learn how. Check out www.bearwithus.org, www.coyotewatchcanada.com, and http://earthroots.org/campaigns/wolves-ontario for more information.