Do Not Feed the Wildlife
More Articles Related to BlogThis morning (Monday, April 7) while walking through town toward the post office to deliver yesterdays orders of FireSteels and 550 paracord from the Survival Topics survival supply depot, I came upon an interesting scene and snapped a picture to share with Survival Topics readers.
Next to the tennis courts on the public common lay a whitetail deer that had nearly made it through the long winter, only to meet its end as the snows began to melt and tender green buds it so relished were about to burst forth. I had my camera and snapped a picture to share with Survival Topics readers.
Where the Deer and the Wildlife Play
On the way back home through town after nightly walks and snowshoe treks in the forest, I regularly see small herds of whitetail deer silently running through backyards like ghosts in the darkness as the stars twinkle in the northern sky. The flicker of television sets inside peoples homes reveal the artificial lives most people lead as the real and beautiful night outside their windows goes largely unnoticed.
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Do Not Feed the Wildlife This whitetail deer survived the winter, only to meet its demise on the town common. Feeding wildlife will draw wild animals into town where they fall prey to dogs, people, and vehicles. |
At night whitetail deer, moose, coyote, fox, black bears and a variety of other wildlife regularly wander into town from the surrounding forested mountains. Usually these animals have left town by sunrise, though occasionally they become trapped in small wooded lots as channels of escape are cut off by traffic and noisy children walking to school.
Feeding Wildlife Hurts Them
Often these animals are attracted into town by people who feed wildlife in their backyards in the mistaken belief they are helping the animals survive. Unfortunately feeding whitetail deer and other wildlife causes these animals to become familiar and even trusting of people. This is dangerous for both parties.
For example, I have come upon whitetail deer that are so tame I can walk right up to them. Good news for unsporting hunters, who possibly return home after the big hunt with stories illustrating their prowess in stalking when in fact these deer can be taken by club or tomahawk.
Bears fed by people can become brazen. In town, black bears frequently make off with bird feeders, especially in the Fall season when they are trying to build up fat reserves prior to hibernation. Last year on the wooded Survival Topics compound, my friends and I pulled out six or eight broken bird feeders the black bears had stolen from neighbors. There is a certain location on the property where the bears like to bring these feeders and eat the seeds before returning for more plunder.
Feeding bears and other wildlife also encourages these animals to seek out household trash, often eating plastics and other toxic materials that smell of food residue. In the local forest I have found black bear and raccoon scat consisting almost entirely of plastic bread wrappers and Styrofoam meat containers.
Offending black bears will also learn to break into camps and even homes. These bears have come to associate people with food, lose some of their wild nature, and can become dangerous if approached too closely. However the likelihood of you having a dangerous black bear encounter is exceedingly low.
Although snow depth in the surrounding forests and mountains is between two or three feet, in town much of the snow has already melted due to lack of forest cover and direct sunlight. This may cause the whitetail deer, which have a difficulties in deep snow, to enter town even more than usual.
In the picture on the right is a south facing slope that takes a maximum of the suns rays. Because south facing slopes are typically warmer on sunny days that other slopes, it is already devoid of snow cover. The tennis courts in back of me are flat and are still mostly covered with snow and ice.
Skinning a Deer
Unfortunately someone had gotten there before me and crudely skinned the whitetail deer where it lay. Although I missed out on a deer hide, I enjoy the thought that there are like minded characters in town. Perhaps there is still hope for the human race after all. I would like to meet them and see what they plan to do with thier find.
The surface of the deer meat was frozen and I had not come upon the animal during my walk the evening before, which means the event had probably occurred later in the night or very early in the morning.
I could not immediately see how this particular whitetail deer met its demise. Perhaps it had been hit by a car and/or injured by dogs that live in nearby homes. The throat of the deer was especially damaged and tufts of fur lay scattered about though this could have occurred after the fact if found by domestic dogs that frequent the park.
A good whitetail deer hide would have come in handy for a variety of wilderness survival crafts including making winter mitten covers. Knowing how to skin a deer is an excellent survival skill and future Survival Topic.
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Don't get your hopes up of like-minded folks skinning that deer. As a nuisance wildlife control operator and animal damage inspector I have seen many of these cases. Urban dogs have the natural prey drive required to kill (and maim as you can see) any prey animal they can catch, but they don't have the instinct or necessity left to consume the prey. Often they will kill the animal and tear pieces off of it then leave it lay, which frequently involves the incidental skinning of the animal.
Judging from the tufts of fur surrounding the deer, the fact that some of the hide on the opposite side of the deer remains, the multiple abrsions on the tissue, and your reports of dogs roaming the area, I'd say it's a safe bet they were the culprits here.