Wildlife vs. Citizens & Wild Weather

Wildlife in and around Boulder are having problems. People move to Boulder and the nearby Rocky Mountain areas for the beauty of nature and the wildlife. Then they do something stupid and blame everything on the wildlife, which is so beautiful from a distance and which is very frightening and disturbing up close. - In case you can't tell yet where this is leading, I'm very much in favor of letting wildlife be wildlife - and not killing it because it is wild. Due to the drought in this area, making the usual berry patches and foraging unvailable to bears and deer, they are both invading local neighborhoods for sustenance. And, of course, where the deer go, our mountain lions follow. There have been two killings of wildlife by the Department of Wildlife (DoW) in the past week in and around Boulder.

The first was the killing of a young black bear - she was less than two years old, and was sighted twice in the same neighborhood, raiding trash. The people who live in the area are supposed to have bear-proof garbage containers, but do not. The first time, she was tranquilized, tagged and moved back into the mountains. The second time, she was shot dead. Yes, she could have become a "nuisance bear" - one that is not afraid of humans and might end up harming someone because they were stupid enough to challenge her space. In this time of drought and loss of feeding habitat, I think the people should have just ignored her as much as possible and made sure their children and pets were secure. And they should have purchased the bear-proof trash containers they were required by law to have done - were they cited for that lack? No. And the bear lost it's life.

The second incident was due to a couple who moved to the mountains to enjoy the beauty and wildlife. These people regularly sleep with their patio and French doors open at night - no screen doors, no barriers whatsoever to keep wildlife out of their home. Now, I admit this was bold (but the house was wide open): a mountain lion entered their bedroom and unfortunately killed their Golden Lab, who was sleeping on the floor near the bed. Had it been my dog, I would have been terribly heart-broken and upset, and I do feel for these folks in their loss - but this was their own fault because they left the doors to their house open in a wildlife area. This mountain lion, who was an opportunistic feeder (and what cat isn't?), was shot dead by the DoW. Had these people closed their doors when they went to bed, the cat would not have had easy access to their home and their dog. They were stupid.

Yesterday, a couple in North Boulder heard a terrible crying coming from the bushes in their yard. They investigated and found a mountain lion in the process of killing a fawn. They immediately backed off, yelling, and went inside their house. Yesterday evening, they decided to look closely at the kill, and suddenly found themselves within 2 feet of the mountain lion, who was sleeping under the bush next to his meal. They again quickly retreated and called DoW. This time the story has a happier ending: the young male cat was wearing a tracking collar and was identified as one of five young males being tracked in a government-funded study - so he was tranquilized and turned loose up in the mountains.

As humans crowd into the habitat of wildlife, some pressures will be felt, and some leeway must be accorded on both sides. Humans have the choice in the matter. I feel that if you move into an area "for the wildlife," then you should take all precautions recommended by experts on wildlife. Respect the animals' space, respect it's need to forage for food and drink, keep things that are important to you safe from the animal (i.e.: keep cats and dogs indoors, or in completely fenced runs), do NOT leave your doors open to your home, inviting wildlife inside. Well... I guess I've blown off enough steam for this morning....

Last night we had wild weather: a Flash Flood Warning, a Tornado Warning, and a Severe Thunderstorm Warning. We didn't flood; a tornado did touch down, but it was quite a distance from here; and we got 7/10ths of an inch of rain in an hour. We've had sprinkles and light rain all morning. Our low this morning was 57; dependent upon cloud-cover, our high might be 78 today. Yeah! We deserve a break in this dry, hot weather - and so does the wildlife!!