Wildways: Humane Wildlife Choices

12/14/2024

Public meeting scheduled January 16, 5:30 PM Johnson County Fairgrounds

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Natural Resources Commission is asking for public input on proposed changes to bobcat trapping regulations in the state.

11/18/2024

Have you noticed more coyotes out and about than usual? 🐺🐺🐺 It’s dispersal season! Young coyotes are leaving their families to find their place in the world—kind of like kids heading off to college. This increase in sightings doesn’t mean a population boom; it’s simply a more noticeable part of their life cycle. Plus, with less vegetation and snow-covered ground, they’re easier to spot this time of year.

An increase in sightings is not a cause for alarm. Coyotes are naturally wary of people and prefer to keep their distance. As young coyotes explore new areas, here are some ways we can help them remain good neighbors:

✅ Secure all food sources: Feed dogs and cats indoors, secure trash bins, and pick up fallen fruit.
✅ Practice safe animal companion guardianship: Keep dogs on leash during walks, especially where coyotes are active. Territorial dogs and excessive barking can sometimes instigate an avoidable encounter.
✅ Never feed coyotes: Feeding them creates an association between people and food, which can lead to conflict.
✅ Keep an eye out: Slow down and watch for wildlife on roadways.

Coyotes play a vital role in thriving ecosystems by naturally regulating populations of rodents and rabbits, reducing the spread of disease, and supporting biodiversity. Foster by learning how to share the landscape with your wild neighbors!

10/29/2024

Lots of good information here about coyotes period. Also effective, but not mentioned, is setting boundaries to keep them out of your yard. You can spray them with a garden hose, spray them with a super soaker, put pennies or rocks in a can and shake it or just bang pans together whenever they are in an area that you do not want them to be. Coyote understand distinct boundaries if we convey that to them.

Coyote sightings increase significantly during the fall months. It is not uncommon to see coyotes running through the green spaces, along the roads, and even peacefully sunning in open areas. Although seeing them in the daytime may seem unusual, coyotes typically do not pose a threat to humans. Fall months see an increase in coyote sightings, in part, due to pup dispersal.

During dispersal, young coyotes may leave their family to set up new territory of their own. While this dispersal can occur during any season, fall is the most common dispersal season because pups are aging. Forced dispersals can occur as community infrastructure changes, due to a loss of territory or habitat, in search of resources such as water during drought, if both parents die, or when a den sight is repeatedly disturbed.

Although the urban environment may not seem “natural”, it actually provides good coyote habitat. Patchwork yards, parks, and lots emulate the fragmented habitats that this species prefers elsewhere. These urban areas also offer diverse food sources that omnivorous coyotes require for good nutrition. During the winter and spring, coyotes predominantly depend on urban mammals including rabbits, mice, voles, squirrels, chipmunks and songbirds. However, in late summer and fall, they heavily supplement their diets on the abundant fruits, vegetables, and berries.

Regardless of your interest in coyote behavior, diet, and s**t, seeing one is no reason to panic. Coyotes generally shy away from people and will likely quickly leave the area. However, if a coyote directly approaches you, raise your arms, raise your voice, and do not run away. Instead, throw sticks or rocks at the coyote until it runs away. While this hazing may seem cruel, it is essential that coyotes fear humans. This is especially important in urban habitats where coyote and human interactions are common. When people treat coyotes like dogs instead of wildlife, coyotes begin confidently approaching humans.

Coyotes directly make a positive impact on our environment by:

• Preying on small mammals like rabbits and mice. These critters reproduce rapidly and, without predators like coyotes, can quickly become overpopulated.

• Coyotes also hunt other animals that are known for harboring disease and parasites. Lyme disease is carried by rodents that infect ticks that feed off of deer. By moderating the deer and rodent populations, the coyote significantly decreases the opportunity for ticks to feed and reproduce. In addition to harboring ticks, over-populations of deer can be devastating to wild vegetation and farm crops.

• Control of the red fox population is an important benefit of coyote presence. The red fox mainly preys on duck eggs, partridges, and other birds. When red foxes are prevalent, the percentage of nest success with these birds drastically decreases as more nests are raided. With coyotes to keep the red fox in check, these birds have a better chance of survival.

Photo credit: Coyote Watch Canada

10/01/2024

09/25/2024

Love opossums? Then buckle in for this wild, fascinating journey! Most people know that opossums are marsupials and carry their babies in a pouch, but have you ever wondered how the pea-sized newborns make their way from the uterus to the pouch?

They begin by going through a newly formed canal that is made from splitting connective tissue. This temporary canal appears shortly after birth and disappears soon after. It is unknown how this formation and reabsorption is controlled. It has appropriately been compared to the Room of Requirement - showing up when you need it, disappearing when you don't.

This is a picture taken using a scanning electron microscope of a 12 day old opossum embryo. It shows the temporary claws that the embryos grow while in the uterus! They use these claws to climb their way into their mom's pouch. Thanks to sensory hairs that form in their inner ear 24 hours after birth, they're able to sense the direction of gravity. They always crawl in the direction opposite of gravity, which leads them towards the pouch.

These tiny opossums also already have a highly developed sense of smell. The mother opossum instinctually licks her fur between the birth canal and her pouch. This creates a clean, clear pathway for the babies. It's also thought that her saliva has olfactory cues that the baby's keen nose can follow to the safety of the pouch. Once they reach the pouch, their claws are shed and permanent nails begin to form.

This entire process only takes 2-4 minutes! Pretty fast for a brand new baby opossum!

📸 from The Opossum: Its Amazing Story by William John Krause

07/03/2024

This week will be especially scary for our wild friends. Please watch out for them.

06/21/2024

Vulture Culture: Both the Turkey vulture and black vulture play an important role in our ecosystem. What kind of symbiotic relationship do these 2 birds have with each other? What kind of symbiotic relationship do we have with vultures?
They’re our diurnal sanitation crew, daily cleaning up carcasses/carrion (dead animals) preventing and protecting us from disease. Both have gut enzymes strong enough to kill anthrax, botulism, rabies, cholera and many more. Turkey Vultures having a keen sense of smell aids in locating a caracass/carrion up to a mile away. Where the black vultures have a keen sense of sight. These two birds found together in various regions have a symbiotic relationship where the turkey vultures locate the carcass and the black vultures being more aggressive follow the turkey vultures on carrion and drive them off to finish the clean up.

06/08/2024

Wildlife are very active right now- even during the day.

Moms and dads are foraging for food to keep up with the demands of nursing.

Juveniles are learning to fend for themselves.

Please be on high alert and scan your yard before dogs go out. Slow down when driving.

06/07/2024

Please share this important information with anyone who may have a pool. You can save a life.

05/06/2024

With the warmer weather finally hitting Ontario, the turtles are on the move! Help our shelled friends

05/03/2024

If a self described "sanctuary" constantly has baby animals available for people to come pet and feed at will, you should start asking some questions.

🐐Where are they coming from? Is the facility breeding them?

🐯Are they on a carefully monitored diet? Or are people just feeding them whatever, whenever they want for a fun experience?

🐐Where is their mother?

🐯What happens to them once visiting season is over?

True sanctuaries aren't breeding animals for captivity. While they may occasionally have a baby born from a rescued pregnant mother, their presence is sporadic. Interactions with the public are carefully monitored and sometimes prohibited, to prevent them from getting injured, sick, or stressed. There's an educational component to your visit. You're usually not allowed to feed them, as they're on a carefully planned diet. When visiting season is over, they live out their life at the sanctuary, just like always.

If those aren't the answers you're getting, chances are those babies will end up going to slaughter or the highest bidder when the season is over, as they're not worth feeding & keeping during "down season" or they're no longer cute and "useful" as adults. They're separated from their mothers and subjected to strangers handling them roughly all day long, with their needs coming second to profit. They're getting sick from improper nutrition and stress. Some species are even drugged to sedate them for photo opportunities and to keep them compliant.

Please consider carefully the places you visit. Our Find a Sanctuary tool can help! https://sanctuaryfederation.org/find-a-sanctuary/