Rescuing the Wild Things
One of the more entertaining aspects of being a columnist is the interesting questions you get from your readers. I get the usual number of requests for information on certain plants or planting recommendations -- but I also get some very difficult-to-answer questions that "sorta-kinda" fall into the arena of wildscaping, simply because they don't seem to fall into any other category. Or maybe it's that these friends think I'm a "know it all" anyway and surely I should know something about THIS particular topic.
Take, for instance, the time I was asked to help someone save a very large bull American Alligator.
This... normally falls outside the range of any wildscaper's expertise. Most of us don't recommend wildscaping for alligators unless you'd intended to put in a moat and keep out traveling salespeople. However, when you're called on for help, there's little time to sit and ponder the morality of "is it right or wrong for this creature to be alive?" The creature is already alive, and it's obviously a problem to someone. The real question is how to deal with it responsibly.
As most of you have guessed, many wildscapers aren't in favor of killing animals as a way of solving a problem of unwanted wildlife. Sometimes it's a necessity (as when you have a rogue carnivore that's attacking humans and livestock), but given the option, we'd rather see the animal (and their contribution to their species' gene pool) saved.
Plants (as discussed in another article) can be transplanted or seeds saved to regrow somewhere else. But it's not easy finding aid for wild animals in danger of losing their homes. While it's exciting to think about stepping in personally and lifting an endangered animal from its environment and releasing it into a new home, in most cases we simply aren't in a position to help. I love horses -- but I couldn't rescue one and bring it into my tiny suburban back yard. Nor would a lion fit there -- nor could I afford the food and veternary bills and the license fees to be able to keep a lion (and anyway, I'm afraid we're zoned against lions here). In most situations, the best thing to do is find the rescue resources and alert them to the problem.
This one stumps most people -- how do you find out who rescues alligators or coyotes or squirrels or sharks or deer or other creatures?
My first step, surprisingly enough, is NOT the Internet -- but rather a call to the local Animal Control office. Your local licensed wildlife rescuers may not have any advertising or
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