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Fitting Humans and Wildlife Into The Same Space
06/11/08 | 1h 28m 9s | Rating: TV-G
David Drake, Assistant Professor, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, UW-Madison. David Drake takes a closer look at the positive and negative interactions between humans and wildlife in urban settings.
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Fitting Humans and Wildlife Into The Same Space
cc >> Welcome, everybody, to Wednesday Nite at the Lab. I'm Tom Zinnen. I work here at the UW-Madison Biotechnology Center. I also work for UW-Madison Cooperative Extension. And on behalf of the Wisconsin Alumni Association, welcome to Wednesday Nite at the Lab. We do this every Wednesday night, 50 times a year. Tonight, I'm very pleased to be able to introduce to you David Drake, who's an extension wildlife specialist and an assistant professor in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology here at UW-Madison. He completed his PhD in Forestry at North Carolina State University. He received a masters degree in Wildlife and Fishery Sciences from Texas A&M University. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Biology from Macalister College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Are you from Minnesota? ( laughs ) And he has a sense of humor. David's research interests include wildlife management on private lands, wildlife damage management, suburban/urban wildlife, and wildlife policy. He is currently the chair of the Wildlife Society's Urban Wildlife Working Group. Please join me in welcoming David Drake to Wednesday Nite at the Lab. ( applause ) >> Thanks for inviting me this evening. It's fun to be here. And we are going to talk for the next, I don't know four or five hours about wildlife. ( laughter ) And specifically, we're going to talk about urban wildlife, so wildlife that we are trying to share space with. And they are trying to share space with us. Sometimes it goes well, and sometimes it doesn't go so well. I guess before I get too far into this, is everybody okay with the lighting? Can you see the screen okay? ( inaudible ) Okay, well I don't, well I do have control, but I've been threatened by the TV crew that if I touch the lighting, they're going to cut me off. So, then you're going to go to the Web cam and it's going to be black and you're not going to be able to see me. So, I don't know. I'll let you guys decide what you want to do on that. You can't see it at all? So I think, evidently there's either this level of lighting or black. And so, we'll see what's going to happen here. So anyway, we're going to talk about wildlife in an urban/suburban setting. And the title slide here, "It's a concrete jungle out there." Okay, all right. So kind of what's going to happen tonight, is I've got a Power Point presentation to just kind of lay the context a little bit for how some of the demographics of the human population in the United States, and specifically in Wisconsin has changed. And then how the wildlife has adapted to that. And some wildlife has won and done very, very well. And some wildlife has not done so well. We're going to talk a little bit about that. And then, I brought some specimens with me. And so I'll try to save some time to at least do a little bit of show and tell with some specimens I brought with me, as well. And most of the talk is going to focus on those species that have just thrived in what we call a human dominated landscape, or a landscape that's been changed with human development, either for residential, primarily for residential, but also for commercial purposes. But the one caveat to this is that bird that's up in the upper left hand side here. It's a peregrine falcon. And the peregrine falcon is a bit of an interesting story. And there are a lot of very positive examples of animals that have done well, and really have recovered from the brink of endangerment or extinction because of human development. And the peregrine falcon is one of those animals. The peregrine falcon, a couple of interesting things about that animal. It's the fastest animal on planet Earth. And it's been reported in what's called a stoop or a dive, to be flying at about 175 miles an hour. So, peregrine falcons, their main food source are other birds, such as pigeons or sparrows. Really, any other bird that is smaller than it. So if you can imagine being a bird flying along, you know, it's a nice blue sunny sky day. You're just flying along, minding your own business. And then all of a sudden, whack. You get hit at 175 miles an hour. And it's all over for you. But peregrine falcons, one of the reasons they've done so well in an urban setting is because in the natural world, they typically will nest on cliff faces and rocky outcrops, and things like that. And one of the reasons the peregrine falcons were so close to extinction is because they suffered from DDT, very similarly to osprey and bald eagles, and some other raptors like that. And for those of you, I'm sure many of you are aware of the DDT issue. But essentially DDT was an insecticide that was used back in the 1960s and '70s. And what happened is it caused what's called a bio-accumulation, the further up you are on the food chain, the more concentrated the DDT levels became in your body. And one of the resulting consequences, for birds especially, is that it thinned the egg shells. And so, when the female laid the eggs in the nest, as she sat on them, she would crush them, because the egg shells were so thin. So that really caused a precipitous decline in the populations of the birds, namely bald eagles and peregrine falcons are two of the primary species that people looked at. So the interesting thing is once they got rid of DDT, peregrine falcons started showing up in cities, because the skyscrapers, and the underpasses of highway bridges and things like that replicated the native surroundings of cliff faces and rocky outcrops. And so they had wonderful places to perch, and nest, and things of that nature. Then, if you've been in a city, you know that there are plenty of birds around, namely starlings, pigeons, house sparrows. So there's a lot of food. And peregrine falcons have just thrived in urban settings so much so that if you go to Milwaukee, for example, or Minneapolis, or other cities, New York City, that a lot of times, they'll have what's called hacking tower or a hack box on skyscrapers. That's where peregrine falcons raise their young and get them to fledge and become birds of their own. And a lot of these buildings have cameras inside the hack box. So if you're in the lobby of the building, you can go in and actually watch these peregrine falcon chicks grow and take off on their own. It's really a pretty neat example of how well human development can benefit wildlife species. It is not always like that. That's one of the rosier examples. But we're going to talk about a lot of examples, primarily focused, however on conflicts between wildlife species and humans in developed areas. So to give you a bit of context And just how drastically the demographics have changed, and kind of where people live have changed, if you back up to about 1900, that graph with the yellow on it, that indicates that about 1900, 85% to 90% of our population was rural based. Now as of the 2000, 80% to 87% of our population is what's called urban based. And urban based on the census bureau's definition is anything where you're within, I think, a half an hour drive of a population center of 50,000 people or more. So we have completely flip-flopped where we live, obviously, and there's a lot of very interesting history if you track kind of the changes with the industrial revolution and abandonment of farmland and movement to the cities and then back out to the suburb. That's a tremendously, I think, interesting story and then if you overlay that with the wildlife populations, that just enriches the story even more. But it's very interesting to note that we flip-flopped where we live and then the graph on the bottom is a projection of our human population growth in the United States. So just about a year and a half ago or so, we passed the 300 million person mark in the United States and I think the projected, if I can read this correctly, by 2050, we're going to be about 404 million, so we're going to almost increase by 25% more in next 50 years, or so. And by the year 2100, they're projecting 571 million people, so nearly doubled where we are today. That's remarkable if you think about it. If you think where we're at now, just wait. Wisconsin really mirrors the national trend, maybe not as dramatic as an example for New Jersey or some cities in the northeast would, but certainly, Wisconsin mirrors the national trend. As of the 2000 census, there are 5.3 million residents in the state of Wisconsin. Primarily, it's the lower third or lower half of the southern half, southern third of the state, is where most of the population is concentrated. And again, 68% reside in urban and suburban areas, so even though we are a rural state, as you move to the north, obviously, you get into rural country areas, and things like that. And even around Madison, you can find some very, we call it pasture land, and things of that nature. But we are considered a very urban/suburban state. And then as of 2000, 143,000 new homes have been built. However, that's slowed tremendously within the last year or two, with the housing crisis we're experiencing in the economy and such. And then just to give you an example of one type of habitat, and an example of how not every species of wildlife has won with this changing landscape, that as of 1970, roughly 1.2 million acres of farmland are developed annually. That's roughly the size of Delaware. Every year the size of Delaware goes from farmland to some kind of a human dominated landscape. So I'll let you sink that in. Delaware, I think, is the third smallest state in the union. So that's a lot of farmland to be turned over every single year and that's just farmland. We're not talking about shrub land or forest land, or anything like that, which is also being turned over. The loss of farmland equals the loss of habitat for sure, and the loss of farmland impacts specifically what we call early successional species, so those species that rely on grassland, prairie and annual crops, and things like that. So as you turn over grassland, and one of the issues right now I was interested in hearing Randy Johnson is coming to speak here. One of the issues that the wildlife community is extremely concerned about, with the rise of ethanol plants, and the issue for planting corn, there's a lot of grassland in what's called Conservation Reserve Program or CRP, where farmers are essentially paid through the Farm Bill to plant erodable land and marginal land into grass. And grass is beneficial for a lot of these grassland species, such as some of the song birds and things like that, that are struggling for survival right now. So what's happening, however, is the CRP contracts are coming out of contract. And instead of planting grass, they're now planting corn. We're seeing a big shift because of the ethanol issue impacting wildlife specifically, directly and immediately. So as you lose farmland, you're losing a lot of species, early successional species. So, grassland species such as sparrows, bobolinks, sandpipers, a lot of birds like that, that are just wonderful birds. But we're losing this what's called a guild of species, that are similar, in that they use the niche of early grassland habitat. The other thing that are getting impacted are those species that require large, contiguous, unbroken tracts of land. As you start to carve up the farmland, or carve up the countryside you start to fragment it. As you fragment it, you start breaking up the continuity and those species that are secretive, or need a large area to roam, such as timber wolves, bears, bob cat, things like that, that they are-- They do okay with people, but people don't do okay with them. And so where you start breaking that habitat up, then you start having problems with the negative interactions between wildlife and humans. And so there are some serious consequences to the loss of farmland or loss of habitats as we create the human dominated landscapes for residential purposes. In Wisconsin, and just to kind of give you a brief overview of the incredible diversity of wildlife we have in Wisconsin, which is rather remarkable because we're so far north, for one thing. A lot of states where, for example, the northern species, the states are the southern range of the northern species, or at the northern range of the southern species, where you're on the boundary, you have tremendous wildlife diversity. We're far north, so we don't have those southern species really pushing far up into Wisconsin. And also because of the harsh winters we have, and the sustained freezes we have, we don't have a tremendous amount of reptile or amphibian species compared to, for example, Florida, Texas, or something like that, where it's more subtropical, especially as you go far south in those states. So considering that, we still have very fortunate to have the incredible wildlife diversity we have, including over 400 species of birds, roughly 70 species of mammals, 30-some species of reptiles, and close to 20 species of amphibians. With that being said, we have our usual cast of characters here. We're going to focus primarily on mammals and birds, just as an example of those species that are absolutely thriving in what we call a human dominated landscape, or where that urban suburban and rural fringe all meet, where they come together. And these are the species we'll talk about it
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17:27,00 And these are the species
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17:29,00 we'll talk about it
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17:30,00 in just a few minutes.
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17:30,00 We'll talk about why
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17:31,00 these species are thriving.
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17:33,00 Just to give you an example
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17:34,00 of some species doing extremely
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17:36,00 well in the human dominated
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17:38,00 landscapes, including
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17:39,00 the black bear, which is
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17:40,00 in the upper left.
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17:43,00 I guess I will use the pointer.
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17:44,00 Let me, just for the people on
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17:45,00 the camera, I'll try not to put
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17:47,00 your eye out.
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17:48,00 The black bear here.
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17:50,00 The beaver does very well.
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17:51,00 The beaver is an interesting
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17:52,00 story.
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17:53,00 It's North America's largest
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17:54,00 rodent, so it's related to mice
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17:56,00 rats, and things like that.
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17:59,00 If you went back maybe 50 years
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18:01,00 ago or so, the beaver was
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18:02,00 very close to being extinct in
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18:04,00 many states in the eastern half
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18:05,00 of the United States, simply
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18:06,00 because they got trapped
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18:08,00 so well.
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18:09,00 And even earlier in the
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18:11,00 20th century when pelt prices
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18:13,00 were high, beavers were
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18:15,00 a well sought after species.
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18:17,00 Even to go further back, at the
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18:19,00 settling of the United States,
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18:21,00 when the French Canadians were
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18:23,00 trapping out fur bears, and
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18:25,00 when the Europeans came here,
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18:26,00 if you were wealthy, you were
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18:27,00 considered to be what's called
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18:28,00 "beaver rich."
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18:29,00 You could afford to buy clothing
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18:33,00 made of beaver pelts, or most
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18:36,00 likely, you gained your wealth
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18:38,00 because of fur trapping,
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18:40,00 built primarily on beavers.
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18:42,00 And the fledgling country of
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18:43,00 America, one of their main
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18:45,00 exports back to the old country
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18:46,00 of Europe were beaver pelts,
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18:47,00 because they were
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18:49,00 so sought after.
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18:50,00 Beaver has played a very
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18:51,00 interesting role in American
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18:52,00 history here.
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18:53,00 Nowadays, beaver have done
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18:55,00 very, very well.
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18:56,00 And so well, that especially
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18:58,00 as you move down into
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18:59,00 the southeastern United States,
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19:02,00 there's a very aggressive,
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19:04,00 active trapping program to
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19:05,00 prevent flooding of roads, and
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19:07,00 flooding of valuable timberland,
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19:09,00 and things like that.
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19:10,00 The skunk is also--
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19:12,00 This is a striped skunk.
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19:13,00 In Wisconsin, we have both
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19:15,00 striped skunks, and we were home
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19:17,00 at one time to spotted skunks,
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19:18,00 which are extremely rare.
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19:19,00 I'm not sure if even
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19:20,00 a spotted skunk exists
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19:22,00 in Wisconsin any longer.
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19:23,00 But striped skunk is a common
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19:25,00 animal throughout the state
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19:26,00 of Wisconsin, but especially
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19:28,00 in urban suburban areas.
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19:29,00 And an interesting fact about
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19:31,00 the skunks, is they are
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19:32,00 the number one carrier of rabies
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19:33,00 of any other wildlife species
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19:34,00 in Wisconsin.
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19:36,00 A lot of people think either
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19:37,00 the raccoon, fox or bats, but
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19:39,00 by far, striped skunks are the
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19:41,00 most common carrier of rabies.
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19:42,00 If you see a striped skunk,
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19:44,00 and it's coming at you, you have
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19:45,00 more than one reason to run
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19:48,00 in the opposite direction.
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19:50,00 Here's a groundhog here or
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19:52,00 what's called a whistle pig,
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19:54,00 or a woodchuck.
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19:55,00 That old thing, how much wood
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19:56,00 could a woodchuck chuck
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19:58,00 if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
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19:59,00 Well, they don't chuck wood.
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20:01,00 They're strictly a vegetarian.
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20:02,00 These animals are dormant
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20:04,00 for the winter months, and then
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20:06,00 they come back up, you know,
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20:07,00 start getting active around the
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20:08,00 middle of April or so, and then
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20:10,00 stay active into the beginning
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20:12,00 of November.
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20:13,00 So they're interesting.
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20:15,00 We've seen a rise of those
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20:17,00 animals with the more
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20:19,00 development that's gone on.
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20:20,00 Let's go I guess down here,
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20:21,00 the deer.
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20:22,00 That doesn't need much
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20:23,00 explanation.
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20:25,00 Deer, people have called them
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20:26,00 in suburban areas,
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20:27,00 rats with antlers.
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20:29,00 They've called them other
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20:32,00 less appreciative type names,
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20:34,00 but deer have absolutely thrived
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20:35,00 in many areas, not only
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20:37,00 in Wisconsin, but especially
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20:38,00 throughout the eastern half of
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20:40,00 the United States, especially
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20:43,00 in suburban urban areas.
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20:44,00 Wildlife managers are struggling
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20:45,00 to control these populations,
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20:47,00 and are not able to control the
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20:49,00 populations to the point where
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20:50,00 we're seeing inflated deer
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20:52,00 densities well over 20 times
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20:55,00 what should be in the wild,
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20:57,00 so that's just remarkable.
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20:59,00 The mountain lion, cougar,
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21:01,00 or puma, depending on what
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21:02,00 region of the United States
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21:04,00 you're in, the mountain lion,
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21:05,00 the most interesting thing
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21:06,00 about that is we had
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21:07,00 a mountain lion here in
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21:08,00 the southern part of Wisconsin
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21:10,00 that moved through in February
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21:11,00 and March.
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21:12,00 And that was the one, I guess,
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21:14,00 over in Rock County.
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21:16,00 And then finally it got killed
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21:17,00 within Chicago city limits by
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21:18,00 the Chicago Police Department
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21:20,00 as it was in one of the
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21:21,00 nature preserves in the city
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21:23,00 limits of Chicago.
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21:26,00 And that animal was found out
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21:27,00 to have been part of
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21:29,00 the South Dakota population.
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21:30,00 It left South Dakota, and made
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21:32,00 its way through Wisconsin,
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21:34,00 and down into Illinois.
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21:36,00 That's a great example of an
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21:38,00 animal that has wide ranging
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21:40,00 home ranges and needs large,
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21:42,00 contiguous unbroken tracts.
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21:44,00 They do very well moving through
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21:45,00 corridor areas, and do exist
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21:47,00 quite well in urban suburban
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21:49,00 areas.
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21:50,00 As an example, out in
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21:52,00 Los Angeles, and Phoenix and
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21:53,00 Tucson, Arizona, for example,
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21:55,00 they have large populations
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21:56,00 of mountain lions that exist
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21:58,00 in and around human beings, but
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21:59,00 they use those greenways
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22:01,00 or travel corridors, and they
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22:03,00 shift their activity
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22:05,00 to nocturnal activity, instead
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22:07,00 of daytime activity, so they
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22:09,00 can avoid other people.
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22:11,00 Unfortunately, as is the case
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22:13,00 occasionally and usually, you
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22:14,00 know, a couple of times a year,
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22:15,00 people do get killed
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22:17,00 by mountain lions.
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22:18,00 And the latest attack,
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22:19,00 luckily this gentleman did not
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22:21,00 die, but the latest attack
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22:22,00 was about a year ago,
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22:23,00 a gentleman and his wife
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22:25,00 were roughly 70 miles or so
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22:27,00 north of San Francisco, and he
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22:30,00 got attacked by a mountain lion.
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22:31,00 His wife fought the mountain
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22:32,00 lion off by just beating the
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22:33,00 living daylights out of
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22:36,00 the thing with a tree limb,
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22:38,00 essentially a big stick
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22:40,00 she found on the ground.
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22:42,00 And it left the husband alone,
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22:43,00 but he was in the hospital for
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22:44,00 about two weeks recuperating.
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22:46,00 But they can live in and around
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22:47,00 human beings.
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22:49,00 It was neat, however,
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22:50,00 after scaring the daylights
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22:51,00 out of you, it was very neat
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22:53,00 to have known that we had
22
53,00 -->
020
22:54,00 a mountain lion in Wisconsin.
22
54,00 -->
020
22:56,00 And that's a native species
22
56,00 -->
020
22:58,00 that I think the last time
22
58,00 -->
020
23:00,00 it was sighted in Wisconsin
23
00,00 -->
020
23:01,00 was 50 years ago,
23
01,00 -->
020
23:03,00 something like that.
23
03,00 -->
020
23:05,00 The coyote right here
23
05,00 -->
020
23:07,00 is essentially a wild dog.
23
07,00 -->
020
23:08,00 And they do extremely well
23
08,00 -->
020
23:09,00 in urban suburban areas.
23
09,00 -->
020
23:12,00 In Chicago, in New York City
23
12,00 -->
020
23:13,00 in Central Park they had
23
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020
23:15,00 a coyote.
23
15,00 -->
020
23:17,00 LA, Phoenix, other areas like
23
17,00 -->
020
23:18,00 that, they have got just large
23
18,00 -->
020
23:20,00 populations of coyotes that do
23
20,00 -->
020
23:23,00 well in urban suburban areas,
23
23,00 -->
020
23:25,00 because coyotes will eat your
23
25,00 -->
020
23:28,00 trash, your compost pile,
23
28,00 -->
020
23:30,00 eat your rodents, and things
23
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020
23:32,00 around your house.
23
32,00 -->
020
23:33,00 They'll eat your pet cat.
23
33,00 -->
020
23:35,00 They'll eat your pet dog.
23
35,00 -->
020
23:36,00 So they do well in urban,
23
36,00 -->
020
23:38,00 suburban settings.
23
38,00 -->
020
23:39,00 Here's our friend the raccoon,
23
39,00 -->
020
23:41,00 sticking his head out of
23
41,00 -->
020
23:42,00 somebody's chimney here.
23
42,00 -->
020
23:45,00 Raccoons also do very well in
23
45,00 -->
020
23:46,00 urban suburban settings, because
23
46,00 -->
020
23:49,00 there's a lot of artificial
23
49,00 -->
020
23:51,00 cavities, such as your chimney.
23
51,00 -->
020
23:52,00 I had a friend of mine
23
52,00 -->
020
23:53,00 who did a study in Hartford,
23
53,00 -->
020
23:55,00 Connecticut, and found that, he
23
55,00 -->
020
23:57,00 took a couple of neighborhoods
23
57,00 -->
020
23:59,00 in Hartford, Connecticut, and
23
59,00 -->
020
24:01,00 found 85% of the houses that did
24
01,00 -->
020
24:03,00 not have a chimney cap on the
24
03,00 -->
020
24:05,00 chimney, had a raccoon in them.
24
05,00 -->
020
24:07,00 So get a chimney cap.
24
07,00 -->
020
24:09,00 It's $20, and it might cost you
24
09,00 -->
020
24:10,00 $50 at the most to get it
24
10,00 -->
020
24:12,00 installed, unless you can do it
24
12,00 -->
020
24:13,00 yourself.
24
13,00 -->
020
24:14,00 But $20 will save you a hassle
24
14,00 -->
020
24:18,00 of raccoons in your chimney.
24
18,00 -->
020
24:20,00 All right, just for a couple
24
20,00 -->
020
24:22,00 of examples of avian species,
24
22,00 -->
020
24:23,00 we'll start with the eastern
24
23,00 -->
020
24:24,00 wild turkey right here.
24
24,00 -->
020
24:26,00 Wild turkeys, if you were a
24
26,00 -->
020
24:28,00 wildlife student, maybe 30 years
24
28,00 -->
020
24:30,00 ago, you would have been taught
24
30,00 -->
020
24:32,00 that wild turkeys need large
24
32,00 -->
020
24:34,00 tracts of unbroken, contiguous
24
34,00 -->
020
24:36,00 habitat, with a mix of kind of
24
36,00 -->
020
24:38,00 an open understory
24
38,00 -->
020
24:41,00 mixed hardwood, pine type forest
24
41,00 -->
020
24:44,00 with some open grassland.
24
44,00 -->
020
24:48,00 Turkeys don't need that.
24
48,00 -->
020
24:49,00 They do very, very well in urban
24
49,00 -->
020
24:51,00 suburban settings.
24
51,00 -->
020
24:52,00 And I was driving--
24
52,00 -->
020
24:54,00 We used to live in Pennsylvania
24
54,00 -->
020
24:55,00 before we moved here.
24
55,00 -->
020
24:57,00 We had about an acre, and we
24
57,00 -->
020
24:59,00 were in kind of a neighborhood
24
59,00 -->
020
25:01,00 with one to three-acre lots.
25
01,00 -->
020
25:02,00 We had six turkeys
25
02,00 -->
020
25:04,00 in our backyard one day.
25
04,00 -->
020
25:05,00 And I used to work at Rutgers
25
05,00 -->
020
25:06,00 University in New Jersey,
25
06,00 -->
020
25:08,00 the most populated state in the
25
08,00 -->
020
25:10,00 union in terms of 1,300 people
25
10,00 -->
020
25:13,00 per square mile on average.
25
13,00 -->
020
25:15,00 That's a lot of people.
25
15,00 -->
020
25:16,00 I had a guy call me one day
25
16,00 -->
020
25:19,00 literally a stone's throw across
25
19,00 -->
020
25:22,00 the Hudson River from Manhattan.
25
22,00 -->
020
25:23,00 He said he had 17 turkeys in his
25
23,00 -->
020
25:25,00 yard one day, and he couldn't
25
25,00 -->
020
25:26,00 even let his grandkids out,
25
26,00 -->
020
25:27,00 because they kept chasing the
25
27,00 -->
020
25:29,00 grandkids back inside the house.
25
29,00 -->
020
25:31,00 Then just to bring it more
25
31,00 -->
020
25:34,00 locally home here, I was driving
25
34,00 -->
020
25:36,00 down Regent Street, over by the
25
36,00 -->
020
25:39,00 Co-op over there, just a little
25
39,00 -->
020
25:43,00 east of West High School.
25
43,00 -->
020
25:45,00 Two turkeys crossed the road and
25
45,00 -->
020
25:47,00 walked up somebody's concrete
25
47,00 -->
020
25:49,00 steps up to their front yard.
25
49,00 -->
020
25:51,00 So turkeys do extremely well.
25
51,00 -->
020
25:52,00 They don't need large tracts
25
52,00 -->
020
25:54,00 of unbroken habitat.
25
54,00 -->
020
25:56,00 And whether we, as a wildlife
25
56,00 -->
020
25:57,00 community, got it wrong or
25
57,00 -->
020
25:58,00 turkeys have adapted extremely
25
58,00 -->
020
26:00,00 well, which is most likely
26
00,00 -->
020
26:01,00 the case, they have adapted
26
01,00 -->
020
26:03,00 very, very well.
26
03,00 -->
020
26:04,00 Canada geese, not much needs
26
04,00 -->
020
26:06,00 to be said about them.
26
06,00 -->
020
26:08,00 It's been determined there are
26
08,00 -->
020
26:11,00 genetically separate populations
26
11,00 -->
020
26:13,00 of migratory Canada geese,
26
13,00 -->
020
26:15,00 versus resident Canada geese.
26
15,00 -->
020
26:17,00 And as Tom mentioned, I got my
26
17,00 -->
020
26:18,00 graduate degree south of the
26
18,00 -->
020
26:20,00 Mason Dixon Line, but it was
26
20,00 -->
020
26:22,00 in North Carolina where
26
22,00 -->
020
26:23,00 it was explained to me,
26
23,00 -->
020
26:24,00 being from Minnesota, the
26
24,00 -->
020
26:25,00 difference between a Yankee
26
25,00 -->
020
26:27,00 and the damn Yankee.
26
27,00 -->
020
26:28,00 They said a damn Yankee
26
28,00 -->
020
26:30,00 is one that never goes home.
26
30,00 -->
020
26:31,00 We have geese
26
31,00 -->
020
26:32,00 and we have damn geese
26
32,00 -->
020
26:33,00 The damn geese are the ones
26
33,00 -->
020
26:34,00 that never up north
26
34,00 -->
020
26:38,00 to nest up north.
26
38,00 -->
020
26:39,00 Turkey vultures here, they've
26
39,00 -->
020
26:41,00 increased in population in both
26
41,00 -->
020
26:43,00 urban suburban settings, but
26
43,00 -->
020
26:45,00 I think throughout, especially
26
45,00 -->
020
26:46,00 the eastern half
26
46,00 -->
020
26:48,00 of the United States, and we
26
48,00 -->
020
26:49,00 don't have black vultures here.
26
49,00 -->
020
26:50,00 But black vultures are also
26
50,00 -->
020
26:52,00 pushing further and further
26
52,00 -->
020
26:53,00 north in the United States.
26
53,00 -->
020
26:55,00 Black vultures are much more
26
55,00 -->
020
26:56,00 aggressive than turkey vultures.
26
56,00 -->
020
26:57,00 Primarily, they're scavengers,
26
57,00 -->
020
26:58,00 but black vultures, also,
26
58,00 -->
020
27:00,00 if they see a downed calf, they
27
00,00 -->
020
27:03,00 will kill the calf and eat it.
27
03,00 -->
020
27:05,00 They can be a predatory bird
27
05,00 -->
020
27:07,00 on occasion.
27
07,00 -->
020
27:08,00 But turkey vultures, one of the
27
08,00 -->
020
27:09,00 reasons I think they're doing so
27
09,00 -->
020
27:10,00 well is simply because we have
27
10,00 -->
020
27:11,00 so much road kill, and much more
27
11,00 -->
020
27:13,00 road kill than even think about
27
13,00 -->
020
27:14,00 10, 20 years ago.
27
14,00 -->
020
27:15,00 There's a lot of food out there
27
15,00 -->
020
27:17,00 for them.
27
17,00 -->
020
27:18,00 And then obviously, with the
27
18,00 -->
020
27:20,00 urban suburban areas, you
27
20,00 -->
020
27:22,00 increase the radiant heating,
27
22,00 -->
020
27:24,00 and these animals glide on those
27
24,00 -->
020
27:26,00 warming air currents as they
27
26,00 -->
020
27:28,00 rise up off the earth.
27
28,00 -->
020
27:29,00 So as you increase the radiant
27
29,00 -->
020
27:31,00 heating, you're also increasing
27
31,00 -->
020
27:32,00 the thermals for them
27
32,00 -->
020
27:34,00 to glide on.
27
34,00 -->
020
27:35,00 I think there's a couple of
27
35,00 -->
020
27:38,00 reasons why they're increasing.
27
38,00 -->
020
27:39,00 Here's an example of
27
39,00 -->
020
27:40,00 ring billed gulls, but you
27
40,00 -->
020
27:42,00 you can pick any gulls you want.
27
42,00 -->
020
27:43,00 A lot of them do well, but
27
43,00 -->
020
27:45,00 especially ring billed gulls,
27
45,00 -->
020
27:46,00 because they're such
27
46,00 -->
020
27:48,00 a trash eating bird.
27
48,00 -->
020
27:49,00 They will eat a lot of things
27
49,00 -->
020
27:50,00 out of dumpsters.
27
50,00 -->
020
27:52,00 So obviously, there's a lot of
27
52,00 -->
020
27:53,00 trash around, and food sources,
27
53,00 -->
020
27:54,00 and things like that.
27
54,00 -->
020
27:56,00 And then crows, I don't have
27
56,00 -->
020
27:57,00 any evidence of this, but
27
57,00 -->
020
27:58,00 I think the crow population,
27
58,00 -->
020
28:01,00 especially in this area, but I
28
01,00 -->
020
28:02,00 think especially in the eastern
28
02,00 -->
020
28:03,00 half of the United States,
28
03,00 -->
020
28:04,00 has increased.
28
04,00 -->
020
28:06,00 I don't know what West Nile
28
06,00 -->
020
28:07,00 Virus has done to the population
28
07,00 -->
020
28:10,00 as a whole, because crows
28
10,00 -->
020
28:12,00 are one of the most susceptible
28
12,00 -->
020
28:14,00 species to the West Nile Virus.
28
14,00 -->
020
28:15,00 But crows have really increased
28
15,00 -->
020
28:16,00 quite a bit as well.
28
16,00 -->
020
28:17,00 And one other thing,
28
17,00 -->
020
28:18,00 let me just back up.
28
18,00 -->
020
28:20,00 I know this is a bad trait to do
28
20,00 -->
020
28:21,00 in a slide presentation, but
28
21,00 -->
020
28:22,00 let me back up quickly
28
22,00 -->
020
28:23,00 to the mammals.
28
23,00 -->
020
28:24,00 And I will make a prediction
28
24,00 -->
020
28:25,00 here, that I think within
28
25,00 -->
020
28:27,00 20 years, we will have
28
27,00 -->
020
28:29,00 armadillos in Wisconsin.
28
29,00 -->
020
28:31,00 Now, you laugh.
28
31,00 -->
020
28:33,00 But I was down in Arkansas
28
33,00 -->
020
28:35,00 a couple of years ago, and I saw
28
35,00 -->
020
28:36,00 an armadillo in Arkansas,
28
36,00 -->
020
28:38,00 which is very far north.
28
38,00 -->
020
28:39,00 It's the nine banded armadillo.
28
39,00 -->
020
28:41,00 They're native to Mexico.
28
41,00 -->
020
28:42,00 They've been pushing north
28
42,00 -->
020
28:43,00 in through Texas and farther up
28
43,00 -->
020
28:45,00 north that way.
28
45,00 -->
020
28:46,00 And I don't know if any of you
28
46,00 -->
020
28:47,00 know Tim, but he's an outdoor
28
47,00 -->
020
28:49,00 writer for the Capital Times.
28
49,00 -->
020
28:50,00 One day, I mentioned this to
28
50,00 -->
020
28:52,00 Tim, and he put it in an article
28
52,00 -->
020
28:53,00 that, David Drake makes this
28
53,00 -->
020
28:54,00 prediction there's going
28
54,00 -->
020
28:56,00 to be armadillos in Wisconsin.
28
56,00 -->
020
28:58,00 And a week after he wrote that
28
58,00 -->
020
29:00,00 in an article, one of my
29
00,00 -->
020
29:02,00 graduate students was driving,
29
02,00 -->
020
29:04,00 and he saw a squished armadillo
29
04,00 -->
020
29:06,00 in central Wisconsin.
29
06,00 -->
020
29:07,00 I kid you not.
29
07,00 -->
020
29:09,00 How the heck it got there,
29
09,00 -->
020
29:10,00 I don't know, but we're seeing
29
10,00 -->
020
29:12,00 animals push further and further
29
12,00 -->
020
29:14,00 north in the range,
29
14,00 -->
020
29:15,00 simply because there's a lot
29
15,00 -->
020
29:17,00 of habitat available to them.
29
17,00 -->
020
29:18,00 And I think it's because
29
18,00 -->
020
29:20,00 of the human development
29
20,00 -->
020
29:21,00 that's going on.
29
21,00 -->
020
29:23,00 An example of that is possums.
29
23,00 -->
020
29:25,00 We are at the very north
29
25,00 -->
020
29:26,00 of possum range.
29
26,00 -->
020
29:29,00 Possums should not be up here,
29
29,00 -->
020
29:30,00 because they don't do well
29
30,00 -->
020
29:31,00 in winter.
29
31,00 -->
020
29:33,00 They don't have fur on
29
33,00 -->
020
29:35,00 either their ears or tail.
29
35,00 -->
020
29:36,00 They don't hibernate, but when
29
36,00 -->
020
29:37,00 it gets really cold, they
29
37,00 -->
020
29:39,00 hole up under your porch, or
29
39,00 -->
020
29:41,00 in a hollow log, or something,
29
41,00 -->
020
29:42,00 and ride out the cold
29
42,00 -->
020
29:44,00 until it warms up a little bit.
29
44,00 -->
020
29:46,00 But a lot of possums in
29
46,00 -->
020
29:47,00 Wisconsin, if they've been here
29
47,00 -->
020
29:48,00 for a while, they have frost bit
29
48,00 -->
020
29:50,00 ears, and the flesh has died
29
50,00 -->
020
29:52,00 and fallen off, so they don't
29
52,00 -->
020
29:53,00 even have ears sometimes.
29
53,00 -->
020
29:56,00 It's a black, jagged edge and
29
56,00 -->
020
29:57,00 who can love that, I don't know,
29
57,00 -->
020
29:59,00 but they find each other
29
59,00 -->
020
30:00,00 out there.
30
00,00 -->
020
30:03,00 But possums are an example
30
03,00 -->
020
30:05,00 of animals that, you know,
30
05,00 -->
020
30:06,00 are really extremely far north
30
06,00 -->
020
30:08,00 in their range.
30
08,00 -->
020
30:09,00 I think that armadillo
30
09,00 -->
020
30:11,00 will be here in the next
30
11,00 -->
020
30:12,00 couple of decades.
30
12,00 -->
020
30:13,00 All right.
30
13,00 -->
020
30:15,00 So urban suburban wildlife.
30
15,00 -->
020
30:16,00 And why are some species
30
16,00 -->
020
30:18,00 able to exist and thrive,
30
18,00 -->
020
30:20,00 such as those cast of characters
30
20,00 -->
020
30:21,00 we just looked at, when other
30
21,00 -->
020
30:23,00 species are not doing so well
30
23,00 -->
020
30:25,00 in urban suburban areas?
30
25,00 -->
020
30:26,00 The biggest thing is, are you
30
26,00 -->
020
30:28,00 adaptable to human dominated
30
28,00 -->
020
30:30,00 landscapes, and can you thrive,
30
30,00 -->
020
30:32,00 can you live in and around
30
32,00 -->
020
30:33,00 human beings?
30
33,00 -->
020
30:34,00 Can you live with the constant
30
34,00 -->
020
30:36,00 presence of human beings?
30
36,00 -->
020
30:37,00 There's a lot of animals that
30
37,00 -->
020
30:38,00 when they see a human,
30
38,00 -->
020
30:40,00 they run the other way.
30
40,00 -->
020
30:42,00 And it's a life trait
30
42,00 -->
020
30:45,00 to keep yourself alive.
30
45,00 -->
020
30:47,00 But in urban suburban areas, one
30
47,00 -->
020
30:48,00 of the things that we don't do
30
48,00 -->
020
30:50,00 is hunt.
30
50,00 -->
020
30:52,00 It's not legal and it's not safe
30
52,00 -->
020
30:54,00 because there's such a density
30
54,00 -->
020
30:55,00 of human population.
30
55,00 -->
020
30:57,00 I know there's a lot of people
30
57,00 -->
020
30:58,00 that I don't want firing a gun
30
58,00 -->
020
31:00,00 in urban suburban areas.
31
00,00 -->
020
31:02,00 What happens then, is animals
31
02,00 -->
020
31:04,00 lose their fear of humans.
31
04,00 -->
020
31:05,00 And as that happens, they get
31
05,00 -->
020
31:07,00 closer and closer to us,
31
07,00 -->
020
31:08,00 or they allow us to get closer
31
08,00 -->
020
31:10,00 and closer to them.
31
10,00 -->
020
31:11,00 And that's when trouble starts.
31
11,00 -->
020
31:13,00 So there are a lot of animals
31
13,00 -->
020
31:14,00 that are very adaptable
31
14,00 -->
020
31:16,00 to human beings.
31
16,00 -->
020
31:18,00 And deer, Canada geese,
31
18,00 -->
020
31:20,00 wild turkey, bear, possums,
31
20,00 -->
020
31:22,00 skunk, you name it, there's
31
22,00 -->
020
31:23,00 a bunch of them out there.
31
23,00 -->
020
31:24,00 You can take your pick.
31
24,00 -->
020
31:26,00 A lot of them are edge species.
31
26,00 -->
020
31:28,00 And if you think about--
31
28,00 -->
020
31:30,00 Let's say, for example, we have
31
30,00 -->
020
31:32,00 a 10-acre square piece of
31
32,00 -->
020
31:34,00 undeveloped land, and you
31
34,00 -->
020
31:35,00 develop that, and you put on
31
35,00 -->
020
31:37,00 that land one-acre houses.
31
37,00 -->
020
31:39,00 So now instead of four edges
31
39,00 -->
020
31:41,00 to that, now theoretically
31
41,00 -->
020
31:44,00 you've created 40 edges.
31
44,00 -->
020
31:45,00 You've increased by 10 fold that
31
45,00 -->
020
31:47,00 amount of edge and fragmentation
31
47,00 -->
020
31:49,00 on the landscape.
31
49,00 -->
020
31:50,00 If you're an edge species,
31
50,00 -->
020
31:52,00 and these are animals that exist
31
52,00 -->
020
31:53,00 where two or more vegetation
31
53,00 -->
020
31:54,00 types come together.
31
54,00 -->
020
31:55,00 So for example, where a forest
31
55,00 -->
020
31:57,00 meets a grassland, or two
31
57,00 -->
020
31:59,00 or more age classes, it could be
31
59,00 -->
020
32:01,00 the same vegetation type.
32
01,00 -->
020
32:03,00 Let's say you have
32
03,00 -->
020
32:04,00 a 30-year-old pine forest, and
32
04,00 -->
020
32:05,00 a 10-year-old pine forest, that
32
05,00 -->
020
32:07,00 would create a vegetation edge.
32
07,00 -->
020
32:09,00 Species that need a variation
32
09,00 -->
020
32:12,00 or diversity in habitat types
32
12,00 -->
020
32:14,00 love edge, because that edge
32
14,00 -->
020
32:17,00 creates great habitat diversity.
32
17,00 -->
020
32:19,00 Think about the species thriving
32
19,00 -->
020
32:20,00
32
20,00 -->
020
32:23,00 deer, fox, coyote, skunk,
32
23,00 -->
020
32:25,00 possum, raccoon, squirrel,
32
25,00 -->
020
32:27,00 any of the bird species.
32
27,00 -->
020
32:30,00 They are habitat generalists.
32
30,00 -->
020
32:32,00 They use a variety of habitats,
32
32,00 -->
020
32:33,00 and they need a variety of
32
33,00 -->
020
32:34,00 habitats, so as you fragment
32
34,00 -->
020
32:36,00 and develop and create edges,
32
36,00 -->
020
32:37,00 you're creating
32
37,00 -->
020
32:39,00 habitat diversity.
32
39,00 -->
020
32:40,00 For those edge species,
32
40,00 -->
020
32:42,00 you could not do a better job
32
42,00 -->
020
32:43,00 of creating a habitat for them
32
43,00 -->
020
32:45,00 if you tried.
32
45,00 -->
020
32:46,00 The last one is just that
32
46,00 -->
020
32:48,00 they do well existing
32
48,00 -->
020
32:50,00 in fragmented habitats.
32
50,00 -->
020
32:52,00 So they can move across multiple
32
52,00 -->
020
32:53,00 habitats.
32
53,00 -->
020
32:54,00 If you go in a one mile
32
54,00 -->
020
32:55,00 straight direction, you might
32
55,00 -->
020
32:57,00 cross across pavement,
32
57,00 -->
020
32:59,00 county park, baseball diamond,
32
59,00 -->
020
33:02,00 high school playground area,
33
02,00 -->
020
33:04,00 residential area,
33
04,00 -->
020
33:06,00 all different types of habitat,
33
06,00 -->
020
33:07,00 and then you might get into
33
07,00 -->
020
33:08,00 a forest and preserve.
33
08,00 -->
020
33:10,00 But all of those habitat types
33
10,00 -->
020
33:11,00 you can exist in, because you do
33
11,00 -->
020
33:12,00 so well in a variety
33
12,00 -->
020
33:13,00 of habitats.
33
13,00 -->
020
33:15,00 Those are great commonalities
33
15,00 -->
020
33:17,00 among the species thriving
33
17,00 -->
020
33:20,00 in urban suburban areas.
33
20,00 -->
020
33:22,00 Then habitat is food, water,
33
22,00 -->
020
33:23,00 shelter and space.
33
23,00 -->
020
33:24,00 Those are the four components
33
24,00 -->
020
33:25,00 to habitat.
33
25,00 -->
020
33:27,00 And habitat, wild animals don't
33
27,00 -->
020
33:30,00 need our help to find habitat.
33
30,00 -->
020
33:32,00 There's a lot of natural habitat
33
32,00 -->
020
33:35,00 out there even in Madison.
33
35,00 -->
020
33:37,00 I think about Owen Park.
33
37,00 -->
020
33:38,00 It's a wonderful little area.
33
38,00 -->
020
33:40,00 Or, the UW Arboretum is
33
40,00 -->
020
33:41,00 a fantastic example of natural
33
41,00 -->
020
33:43,00 habitat, and animals do great
33
43,00 -->
020
33:44,00 out there.
33
44,00 -->
020
33:46,00 The Arboretum is rung by all
33
46,00 -->
020
33:48,00 of this artificial habitat that
33
48,00 -->
020
33:50,00 animals can also thrive in.
33
50,00 -->
020
33:52,00 You've got water out there.
33
52,00 -->
020
33:53,00 If you have a landscape pond
33
53,00 -->
020
33:54,00 in your yard,
33
54,00 -->
020
33:56,00 you're creating water.
33
56,00 -->
020
33:57,00 If you don't have a chimney cap
33
57,00 -->
020
33:58,00 on your chimney,
33
58,00 -->
020
34:01,00 you created shelter.
34
01,00 -->
020
34:02,00 You might be hanging
34
02,00 -->
020
34:03,00 bird feeders.
34
03,00 -->
020
34:05,00 You've put artificial food out.
34
05,00 -->
020
34:06,00 And then space, all of this
34
06,00 -->
020
34:08,00 space that you provided for them
34
08,00 -->
020
34:09,00 with your backyard, or adjoining
34
09,00 -->
020
34:11,00 travel corridor, green space,
34
11,00 -->
020
34:13,00 whatever it is, we've created
34
13,00 -->
020
34:15,00 so much artificial habitat
34
15,00 -->
020
34:17,00 that in addition to the natural
34
17,00 -->
020
34:18,00 habitat, it's allowed these
34
18,00 -->
020
34:21,00 populations to just explode.
34
21,00 -->
020
34:23,00 We are artificially holding
34
23,00 -->
020
34:24,00 increased densities of wildlife,
34
24,00 -->
020
34:26,00 much higher than what
34
26,00 -->
020
34:28,00 the natural habitat could hold.
34
28,00 -->
020
34:29,00 That's why in some areas, you
34
29,00 -->
020
34:31,00 can hold 20 times the amount
34
31,00 -->
020
34:32,00 of deer than you would
34
32,00 -->
020
34:33,00 in a natural habitat, because
34
33,00 -->
020
34:34,00 we've got all of this artificial
34
34,00 -->
020
34:37,00 habitat out there.
34
37,00 -->
020
34:38,00 Which gets us to what's
34
38,00 -->
020
34:40,00 called carrying capacity.
34
40,00 -->
020
34:41,00 The definition of carrying
34
41,00 -->
020
34:44,00 capacity, is on a defined area
34
44,00 -->
020
34:46,00 of defined habitat,
34
46,00 -->
020
34:48,00 the number of animals
34
48,00 -->
020
34:49,00 in a single species that can be
34
49,00 -->
020
34:51,00 sustained perpetually.
34
51,00 -->
020
34:53,00 So that's carrying capacity.
34
53,00 -->
020
34:55,00 Biological carrying capacity, if
34
55,00 -->
020
34:57,00 you look on the left-hand side,
34
57,00 -->
020
34:58,00 think of it as a river
34
58,00 -->
020
34:59,00 that's flowing--
34
59,00 -->
020
35:00,00 This is an appropriate example
35
00,00 -->
020
35:01,00 right now, with all of the rain
35
01,00 -->
020
35:02,00 we've had.
35
02,00 -->
020
35:04,00 But a river is, you know, within
35
04,00 -->
020
35:06,00 its banks, it's within the
35
06,00 -->
020
35:08,00 biological carrying capacity.
35
08,00 -->
020
35:09,00 The river is in it's banks.
35
09,00 -->
020
35:10,00 That's as much water
35
10,00 -->
020
35:12,00 as that area can hold.
35
12,00 -->
020
35:14,00 If you start to exceed that,
35
14,00 -->
020
35:16,00 you get into what's called
35
16,00 -->
020
35:17,00 cultural carrying capacity.
35
17,00 -->
020
35:18,00 Cultural carrying capacity
35
18,00 -->
020
35:20,00 is an example of a flooded
35
20,00 -->
020
35:22,00 scene, as you see to the right,
35
22,00 -->
020
35:23,00 or anywhere you see in
35
23,00 -->
020
35:24,00 the southern part of the state
35
24,00 -->
020
35:25,00 right now.
35
25,00 -->
020
35:26,00 Cultural carrying capacity is
35
26,00 -->
020
35:28,00 defined as the number of animals
35
28,00 -->
020
35:29,00 the human population will
35
29,00 -->
020
35:31,00 tolerate in a single species,
35
31,00 -->
020
35:33,00 Typically, cultural carrying
35
33,00 -->
020
35:35,00 capacity can be much lower than
35
35,00 -->
020
35:37,00 the biological carrying capacity
35
37,00 -->
020
35:39,00 but you also have what's called
35
39,00 -->
020
35:41,00 a carrying index.
35
41,00 -->
020
35:43,00 For example, biological carrying
35
43,00 -->
020
35:44,00 capacity might be 15 deer per
35
44,00 -->
020
35:46,00 square mile.
35
46,00 -->
020
35:48,00 In an artificial setting
35
48,00 -->
020
35:49,00 we might have 200 deer
35
49,00 -->
020
35:51,00 per square mile.
35
51,00 -->
020
35:52,00 Cultural carrying capacity is
35
52,00 -->
020
35:54,00 much lower than that, obviously.
35
54,00 -->
020
35:56,00 My argument is biological
35
56,00 -->
020
35:58,00 carrying capacity should not
35
58,00 -->
020
35:59,00 even be talked about in an
35
59,00 -->
020
36:01,00 urban suburban area, because
36
01,00 -->
020
36:02,00 there's so much artificial
36
02,00 -->
020
36:04,00 habitat out there.
36
04,00 -->
020
36:05,00 We should only be focusing on
36
05,00 -->
020
36:06,00 the on the cultural carrying
36
06,00 -->
020
36:08,00 capacity.
36
08,00 -->
020
36:09,00 All right, a couple of other
36
09,00 -->
020
36:10,00 things about increasing wildlife
36
10,00 -->
020
36:12,00 populations is that, again,
36
12,00 -->
020
36:13,00 we've talked about this.
36
13,00 -->
020
36:14,00 We're creating tremendous amount
36
14,00 -->
020
36:15,00 of edge, tremendous amount
36
15,00 -->
020
36:17,00 of fragmentation.
36
17,00 -->
020
36:18,00 We've created abundant habitat
36
18,00 -->
020
36:20,00 with all of that.
36
20,00 -->
020
36:21,00 We've created both natural
36
21,00 -->
020
36:23,00 and artificial food, water,
36
23,00 -->
020
36:24,00 shelter and space.
36
24,00 -->
020
36:25,00 There's a lot of habitat for the
36
25,00 -->
020
36:27,00 animals to take advantage of.
36
27,00 -->
020
36:29,00 A lot of these animals are
36
29,00 -->
020
36:30,00 maximizing, or at least
36
30,00 -->
020
36:31,00 achieving their reproductive
36
31,00 -->
020
36:33,00 potential.
36
33,00 -->
020
36:34,00 For a lot of animals,
36
34,00 -->
020
36:36,00 reproduction is directly related
36
36,00 -->
020
36:38,00 to the nutritional state
36
38,00 -->
020
36:41,00 of the father, but especially
36
41,00 -->
020
36:43,00 the mother.
36
43,00 -->
020
36:44,00 If the mother is not
36
44,00 -->
020
36:45,00 nutritionally healthy enough
36
45,00 -->
020
36:46,00 to support herself, she can't
36
46,00 -->
020
36:48,00 support offspring,
36
48,00 -->
020
36:49,00 either carrying them to term,
36
49,00 -->
020
36:51,00 or raising them once they've
36
51,00 -->
020
36:54,00 hatched out or been born.
36
54,00 -->
020
36:55,00 But in those areas where you
36
55,00 -->
020
36:57,00 see 200 deer per square mile,
36
57,00 -->
020
37:00,00 for example, we see in those
37
00,00 -->
020
37:01,00 areas, large antlers
37
01,00 -->
020
37:03,00 or racks on deer.
37
03,00 -->
020
37:05,00 Well, deer don't have large
37
05,00 -->
020
37:06,00 antlers if they're not
37
06,00 -->
020
37:07,00 nutritionally healthy.
37
07,00 -->
020
37:08,00 If they've exceeded their
37
08,00 -->
020
37:11,00 density by 20 times and they
37
11,00 -->
020
37:13,00 still have large antler racks,
37
13,00 -->
020
37:14,00 you know there's enough food
37
14,00 -->
020
37:16,00 out there in the landscape
37
16,00 -->
020
37:17,00 for those deer.
37
17,00 -->
020
37:19,00 Or deer, it's not uncommon
37
19,00 -->
020
37:20,00 if the doe is nutritionally
37
20,00 -->
020
37:22,00 healthy, especially after
37
22,00 -->
020
37:24,00 her first year,
37
24,00 -->
020
37:27,00 to have fawns in pairs.
37
27,00 -->
020
37:29,00 Those areas, again, where you
37
29,00 -->
020
37:30,00 see 200 deer per square mile,
37
30,00 -->
020
37:32,00 we were seeing some does
37
32,00 -->
020
37:34,00 dropping three
37
34,00 -->
020
37:36,00 and occasionally four fawns
37
36,00 -->
020
37:40,00 in one birthing situation.
37
40,00 -->
020
37:42,00 If that's the case,
37
42,00 -->
020
37:43,00 you know that that doe
37
43,00 -->
020
37:44,00 is nutritionally healthy.
37
44,00 -->
020
37:45,00 There is more than enough food
37
45,00 -->
020
37:47,00 on the landscape to support her
37
47,00 -->
020
37:49,00 and those multiple fawns.
37
49,00 -->
020
37:51,00 That's a remarkable statistic
37
51,00 -->
020
37:53,00 to think about.
37
53,00 -->
020
37:54,00 Then you think about, if you're
37
54,00 -->
020
37:56,00 dropping three and four fawns,
37
56,00 -->
020
37:57,00 and four is not terribly common,
37
57,00 -->
020
37:59,00 three is pretty common,
37
59,00 -->
020
38:01,00 it doesn't take too long
38
01,00 -->
020
38:02,00 for the population to grow,
38
02,00 -->
020
38:04,00 especially if you pay attention
38
04,00 -->
020
38:05,00 to the third point, that you
38
05,00 -->
020
38:07,00 have no way to limit
38
07,00 -->
020
38:09,00 the population growth.
38
09,00 -->
020
38:10,00 Typically, especially for
38
10,00 -->
020
38:12,00 game animals, and game animals
38
12,00 -->
020
38:14,00 are those species where you can
38
14,00 -->
020
38:15,00 either set a hunting or
38
15,00 -->
020
38:17,00 trapping season on their head.
38
17,00 -->
020
38:19,00 For game animals, the most
38
19,00 -->
020
38:20,00 cost efficient way, typically,
38
20,00 -->
020
38:22,00 of controlling the population
38
22,00 -->
020
38:24,00 is to either hunt or trap them.
38
24,00 -->
020
38:25,00 But in urban suburban settings,
38
25,00 -->
020
38:27,00 you can't hunt and sometimes
38
27,00 -->
020
38:28,00 you can't trap, simply because
38
28,00 -->
020
38:30,00 it's not healthy, or so it's
38
30,00 -->
020
38:33,00 so controversial because our
38
33,00 -->
020
38:35,00 idea of communing with nature
38
35,00 -->
020
38:37,00 is no longer to go out
38
37,00 -->
020
38:40,00 and harvest an area.
38
40,00 -->
020
38:41,00 It's to go out and bird watch
38
41,00 -->
020
38:43,00 or do something non-consumptive.
38
43,00 -->
020
38:46,00 And the general attitude among
38
46,00 -->
020
38:48,00 the general population has
38
48,00 -->
020
38:50,00 shifted from looking at wildlife
38
50,00 -->
020
38:52,00 as a resource to use,
38
52,00 -->
020
38:53,00 to instead looking at wildlife
38
53,00 -->
020
38:55,00 as a resource to just watch,
38
55,00 -->
020
38:57,00 and not do anything with,
38
57,00 -->
020
38:58,00 which is fine.
38
58,00 -->
020
38:59,00 It's okay to think like that,
38
59,00 -->
020
39:01,00 but it makes it really hard to
39
01,00 -->
020
39:02,00 management wildlife populations
39
02,00 -->
020
39:04,00 when you can't do anything
39
04,00 -->
020
39:05,00 to limit their population,
39
05,00 -->
020
39:07,00 their growth.
39
07,00 -->
020
39:08,00 That's why we find ourselves in
39
08,00 -->
020
39:09,00 these situations, where we have
39
09,00 -->
020
39:11,00 uncontrolled population growth,
39
11,00 -->
020
39:12,00 where we can't do anything
39
12,00 -->
020
39:14,00 about it.
39
14,00 -->
020
39:16,00 So the other thing about human
39
16,00 -->
020
39:17,00 wildlife conflicts,
39
17,00 -->
020
39:19,00 is most of the conflicts
39
19,00 -->
020
39:20,00 are human centered.
39
20,00 -->
020
39:21,00 So it's either the species that
39
21,00 -->
020
39:23,00 are causing economic damage, or
39
23,00 -->
020
39:25,00 they're causing health related
39
25,00 -->
020
39:26,00 issues, such as rabid animals,
39
26,00 -->
020
39:29,00 animals with--
39
29,00 -->
020
39:30,00 Avian influenza is a big issue
39
30,00 -->
020
39:32,00 now, West Nile Virus,
39
32,00 -->
020
39:33,00 chronic wasting disease,
39
33,00 -->
020
39:34,00 you name it.
39
34,00 -->
020
39:36,00 There's issues out there
39
36,00 -->
020
39:38,00 that people are concerned about.
39
38,00 -->
020
39:39,00 I would just point out there's
39
39,00 -->
020
39:40,00 a lot of natural resource damage
39
40,00 -->
020
39:42,00 going on that we don't focus on,
39
42,00 -->
020
39:44,00 or don't pay any attention to.
39
44,00 -->
020
39:46,00 It can go anywhere from geese
39
46,00 -->
020
39:48,00 overgrazing stream side banks,
39
48,00 -->
020
39:49,00 and all of a sudden you have no
39
49,00 -->
020
39:50,00 vegetations to hold the soil
39
50,00 -->
020
39:51,00 in place.
39
51,00 -->
020
39:52,00 Then when you have a rain
39
52,00 -->
020
39:54,00 event, it causes erosion,
39
54,00 -->
020
39:56,00 washes into the stream.
39
56,00 -->
020
39:57,00 And now you've created
39
57,00 -->
020
39:59,00 a situation in the stream,
39
59,00 -->
020
40:00,00 so those animals that require
40
00,00 -->
020
40:01,00 clear water and high
40
01,00 -->
020
40:03,00 dissolved oxygen levels,
40
03,00 -->
020
40:04,00 and things like that,
40
04,00 -->
020
40:06,00 fish or whatever,
40
06,00 -->
020
40:08,00 that those species are starting
40
08,00 -->
020
40:09,00 to get choked out.
40
09,00 -->
020
40:12,00 Or as the vegetation gets eaten
40
12,00 -->
020
40:14,00 off the stream bank, that
40
14,00 -->
020
40:16,00 vegetation acts as a filtration
40
16,00 -->
020
40:18,00 in urban suburban settings,
40
18,00 -->
020
40:19,00 where you have a lot
40
19,00 -->
020
40:20,00 of non-point source pollution
40
20,00 -->
020
40:21,00 running off the landscape
40
21,00 -->
020
40:23,00 into the water source,
40
23,00 -->
020
40:24,00 that vegetation acts as a sponge
40
24,00 -->
020
40:26,00 and stops that, or reduces it
40
26,00 -->
020
40:28,00 before it gets to the water.
40
28,00 -->
020
40:30,00 If that's no longer there,
40
30,00 -->
020
40:31,00 because it's been over-grazed
40
31,00 -->
020
40:33,00 by whatever animal, taken out,
40
33,00 -->
020
40:34,00 then all of a sudden
40
34,00 -->
020
40:35,00 you're increasing the pollutants
40
35,00 -->
020
40:36,00 to the water body.
40
36,00 -->
020
40:38,00 And now you're fertilizing
40
38,00 -->
020
40:39,00 the water, so you get a lot
40
39,00 -->
020
40:40,00 of vegetation growing up,
40
40,00 -->
020
40:42,00 and it chokes the aquatic life
40
42,00 -->
020
40:44,00 out that way, as well.
40
44,00 -->
020
40:46,00 There's a lot of issues going
40
46,00 -->
020
40:47,00 on that are not human centered,
40
47,00 -->
020
40:48,00 although we focus most of
40
48,00 -->
020
40:49,00 our attention on the
40
49,00 -->
020
40:53,00 human centered conflicts.
40
53,00 -->
020
40:54,00 And one of the reasons I
40
54,00 -->
020
40:56,00 mentioned that is so difficult
40
56,00 -->
020
40:57,00 to deal with this in urban
40
57,00 -->
020
40:59,00 suburban settings, is because
40
59,00 -->
020
41:00,00 a lot of issues are perceived
41
00,00 -->
020
41:02,00 issues.
41
02,00 -->
020
41:03,00 They may not be real issues.
41
03,00 -->
020
41:05,00 As an example, the black bear
41
05,00 -->
020
41:07,00 wandering in a backyard.
41
07,00 -->
020
41:09,00 If this was in my backyard,
41
09,00 -->
020
41:11,00 I would grab my daughters
41
11,00 -->
020
41:12,00 and wife and we would, from a
41
12,00 -->
020
41:15,00 safe distance, watch the bear.
41
15,00 -->
020
41:16,00 We'd talk to kids and use it
41
16,00 -->
020
41:18,00 as an educational opportunity.
41
18,00 -->
020
41:20,00 There are a lot of people,
41
20,00 -->
020
41:21,00 however, if they see black bear
41
21,00 -->
020
41:23,00 in their yard, say the thing
41
23,00 -->
020
41:24,00 is coming to eat me.
41
24,00 -->
020
41:27,00 It's an understandable attitude
41
27,00 -->
020
41:29,00 and reaction, but the bear
41
29,00 -->
020
41:31,00 is not going to hurt you.
41
31,00 -->
020
41:33,00 But that is a perception
41
33,00 -->
020
41:35,00 versus a real issue.
41
35,00 -->
020
41:37,00 There's a lot of people when
41
37,00 -->
020
41:38,00 they see wildlife, especially
41
38,00 -->
020
41:40,00 because, I think personally,
41
40,00 -->
020
41:42,00 that we are not connected
41
42,00 -->
020
41:43,00 to the outdoor world
41
43,00 -->
020
41:45,00 like we were generations ago,
41
45,00 -->
020
41:46,00 that people just don't get out
41
46,00 -->
020
41:47,00 into the outdoor world anymore.
41
47,00 -->
020
41:49,00 And they don't realize that
41
49,00 -->
020
41:50,00 the wildlife is as scared of you
41
50,00 -->
020
41:52,00 as you are of it.
41
52,00 -->
020
41:53,00 And if you give the animal a
41
53,00 -->
020
41:54,00 chance, it's going to run,
41
54,00 -->
020
41:55,00 faster than you can run,
41
55,00 -->
020
41:57,00 the opposite direction,
41
57,00 -->
020
41:59,00 So there's some issues there.
41
59,00 -->
020
42:00,00 The other thing is that a lot
42
00,00 -->
020
42:02,00 of the management decisions
42
02,00 -->
020
42:05,00 on how to manage wildlife
42
05,00 -->
020
42:06,00 populations in urban suburban
42
06,00 -->
020
42:08,00 settings, although it should be
42
08,00 -->
020
42:09,00 a biological or scientifically
42
09,00 -->
020
42:11,00 driven decision, it's much more
42
11,00 -->
020
42:13,00 a politically influenced
42
13,00 -->
020
42:15,00 decision.
42
15,00 -->
020
42:16,00 As an example, the people over
42
16,00 -->
020
42:18,00 there with the placards, where
42
18,00 -->
020
42:20,00 they're advocating for PETA,
42
20,00 -->
020
42:22,00 the People for the Ethical
42
22,00 -->
020
42:26,00 Treatment of Animals.
42
26,00 -->
020
42:28,00 Again, wildlife
42
28,00 -->
020
42:31,00 is a public resource.
42
31,00 -->
020
42:32,00 Everybody has an opinion, and
42
32,00 -->
020
42:34,00 nobody's opinion should override
42
34,00 -->
020
42:35,00 anyone else's opinion, but when
42
35,00 -->
020
42:39,00 politics gets interjected,
42
39,00 -->
020
42:41,00 it makes it extremely hard
42
41,00 -->
020
42:43,00 to manage, in a cost efficient
42
43,00 -->
020
42:45,00 manner, wildlife populations.
42
45,00 -->
020
42:47,00 So what you're doing is instead
42
47,00 -->
020
42:48,00 of managing the wildlife, you're
42
48,00 -->
020
42:49,00 managing the human population,
42
49,00 -->
020
42:51,00 which is like herding cats.
42
51,00 -->
020
42:52,00 It just doesn't get done
42
52,00 -->
020
42:53,00 very well.
42
53,00 -->
020
42:55,00 So community involvement
42
55,00 -->
020
42:56,00 often is very necessary.
42
56,00 -->
020
42:57,00 You have to build it from the
42
57,00 -->
020
42:58,00 ground floor up, instead of
42
58,00 -->
020
43:00,00 the top floor down.
43
00,00 -->
020
43:01,00 The DNR can't come into a
43
01,00 -->
020
43:02,00 community and say, hey, you're
43
02,00 -->
020
43:03,00 going to do this, because
43
03,00 -->
020
43:05,00 the community will revolt.
43
05,00 -->
020
43:06,00 Instead, the community has to
43
06,00 -->
020
43:08,00 come to the decision themselves
43
08,00 -->
020
43:10,00 as a community wide decision,
43
10,00 -->
020
43:11,00 and then implement it throughout
43
11,00 -->
020
43:13,00 the community that way.
43
13,00 -->
020
43:16,00 And it's been done many times,
43
16,00 -->
020
43:18,00 but the point is, it takes
43
18,00 -->
020
43:20,00 a long time to get the community
43
20,00 -->
020
43:22,00 together and to get some kind of
43
22,00 -->
020
43:24,00 a decision decided upon,
43
24,00 -->
020
43:27,00 and it adds to the expense of
43
27,00 -->
020
43:28,00 the decision and the management
43
28,00 -->
020
43:29,00 action.
43
29,00 -->
020
43:30,00 So a lot of people don't have
43
30,00 -->
020
43:31,00 the patience, and a lot of
43
31,00 -->
020
43:32,00 communities don't have the
43
32,00 -->
020
43:34,00 resources to manage the wildlife
43
34,00 -->
020
43:36,00 properly to reduce
43
36,00 -->
020
43:37,00 the population to more of
43
37,00 -->
020
43:39,00 a manageable level.
43
39,00 -->
020
43:40,00 All right, and then politics
43
40,00 -->
020
43:41,00 and policies.
43
41,00 -->
020
43:42,00 So even though you're dealing
43
42,00 -->
020
43:43,00 with a biological problem, it
43
43,00 -->
020
43:44,00 is very much a policy solution,
43
44,00 -->
020
43:46,00 because politics gets involved
43
46,00 -->
020
43:48,00 in this, and really the politics
43
48,00 -->
020
43:50,00 is--
43
50,00 -->
020
43:52,00 Politics is just choices.
43
52,00 -->
020
43:53,00 What choice do you want to make
43
53,00 -->
020
43:55,00 amongst the range of choices
43
55,00 -->
020
43:56,00 you have?
43
56,00 -->
020
43:58,00 But a lot of times, as you may
43
58,00 -->
020
43:59,00 or may not know, and maybe you
43
59,00 -->
020
44:01,00 don't share this opinion,
44
01,00 -->
020
44:02,00 but when politics gets involved,
44
02,00 -->
020
44:03,00 usually nothing good comes of
44
03,00 -->
020
44:07,00 it, so it gets very difficult.
44
07,00 -->
020
44:08,00 And a good example
44
08,00 -->
020
44:10,00 of this is just the CWD
44
10,00 -->
020
44:12,00 that the DNR is in right now.
44
12,00 -->
020
44:14,00 The DNR is trying to do
44
14,00 -->
020
44:16,00 the right thing.
44
16,00 -->
020
44:19,00 But the politicians up in the
44
19,00 -->
020
44:21,00 legislature say you should
44
21,00 -->
020
44:23,00 do this instead of this.
44
23,00 -->
020
44:25,00 And it makes it very muddy
44
25,00 -->
020
44:27,00 and very messy.
44
27,00 -->
020
44:31,00 I'm sorry?
44
31,00 -->
020
44:32,00 Oh, I'm sorry, the CWD.
44
32,00 -->
020
44:34,00 It's chronic wasting disease.
44
34,00 -->
020
44:36,00 I'm sorry.
44
36,00 -->
020
44:37,00 Thank you for pointing that out.
44
37,00 -->
020
44:39,00 It's chronic wasting disease.
44
39,00 -->
020
44:41,00 It's the disease that has struck
44
41,00 -->
020
44:42,00 the deer population here in the
44
42,00 -->
020
44:43,00 southern part of the state,
44
43,00 -->
020
44:44,00 although they're testing for it
44
44,00 -->
020
44:46,00 statewide.
44
46,00 -->
020
44:47,00 But it's similar to mad cow
44
47,00 -->
020
44:49,00 disease, so it's a protein that
44
49,00 -->
020
44:51,00 kind of eats away at the brain,
44
51,00 -->
020
44:52,00 and causes the animal to
44
52,00 -->
020
44:56,00 essentially just waste away.
44
56,00 -->
020
44:57,00 That's why
44
57,00 -->
020
45:00,00 it's chronic wasting disease.
45
00,00 -->
020
45:02,00 >> Why do you say politics is
45
02,00 -->
020
45:04,00 muddying up the water?
45
04,00 -->
020
45:05,00 >> Well, because politicians,
45
05,00 -->
020
45:06,00 the DNR is trying to make
45
06,00 -->
020
45:07,00 scientifically based
45
07,00 -->
020
45:09,00 research based decisions.
45
09,00 -->
020
45:10,00 And the politicians may not
45
10,00 -->
020
45:11,00 always see that that's the right
45
11,00 -->
020
45:13,00 decision to make, and instead
45
13,00 -->
020
45:15,00 are listening to constituents
45
15,00 -->
020
45:17,00 who, the decision the
45
17,00 -->
020
45:18,00 constituents might want, may be
45
18,00 -->
020
45:20,00 in complete opposition
45
20,00 -->
020
45:21,00 to what the DNR and sciences
45
21,00 -->
020
45:22,00 are saying to do.
45
22,00 -->
020
45:26,00 That's how it becomes a problem.
45
26,00 -->
020
45:28,00 >> The DNR proposal,
45
28,00 -->
020
45:29,00 opposed by the community
45
29,00 -->
020
45:32,00 or the politicians?
45
32,00 -->
020
45:34,00 >> Well, an example is
45
34,00 -->
020
45:38,00 some of the deer seasons.
45
38,00 -->
020
45:40,00 So if you're a deer hunter,
45
40,00 -->
020
45:41,00 the traditional deer season
45
41,00 -->
020
45:43,00 is the nine-day deer season,
45
43,00 -->
020
45:44,00 starting on the Saturday before
45
44,00 -->
020
45:46,00 Thanksgiving and ending the
45
46,00 -->
020
45:47,00 Sunday after Thanksgiving.
45
47,00 -->
020
45:48,00 That was always the traditional
45
48,00 -->
020
45:49,00 season.
45
49,00 -->
020
45:51,00 The DNR has been trying to
45
51,00 -->
020
45:52,00 extend and increase the number
45
52,00 -->
020
45:54,00 of days that you can hunt
45
54,00 -->
020
45:55,00 in certain zones, to try
45
55,00 -->
020
45:59,00 to increase the harvest levels
45
59,00 -->
020
46:02,00 to knock down the prevalence
46
02,00 -->
020
46:03,00 of chronic wasting disease.
46
03,00 -->
020
46:04,00 The politicians have not always
46
04,00 -->
020
46:06,00 agreed with that, and because
46
06,00 -->
020
46:07,00 a lot of times, the regulations
46
07,00 -->
020
46:09,00 have to be passed through
46
09,00 -->
020
46:10,00 the subcommittee at the state
46
10,00 -->
020
46:11,00 legislature, they may not always
46
11,00 -->
020
46:13,00 agree with those decisions.
46
13,00 -->
020
46:15,00 They might say, well, we don't
46
15,00 -->
020
46:16,00 want this hunting season, or
46
16,00 -->
020
46:18,00 we don't agree with the number
46
18,00 -->
020
46:19,00 of days you've got out there.
46
19,00 -->
020
46:21,00 We either want them added to,
46
21,00 -->
020
46:21,00 or shortened, or whatever
46
21,00 -->
020
46:23,00 the case might be.
46
23,00 -->
020
46:23,00 That would be an example
46
23,00 -->
020
46:25,00 of how that is.
46
25,00 -->
020
46:27,00 But it is a morass,
46
27,00 -->
020
46:30,00 unfortunately.
46
30,00 -->
020
46:32,00 So the other thing I'll just
46
32,00 -->
020
46:33,00 mention quickly as regulations
46
33,00 -->
020
46:34,00 and laws, and there are plenty
46
34,00 -->
020
46:36,00 of regulations and laws that
46
36,00 -->
020
46:38,00 you have to abide by in urban
46
38,00 -->
020
46:41,00 suburban settings, especially.
46
41,00 -->
020
46:42,00 But federal law, any animal
46
42,00 -->
020
46:44,00 that's migratory by nature,
46
44,00 -->
020
46:46,00 so the geese we mentioned,
46
46,00 -->
020
46:48,00 resident geese,
46
48,00 -->
020
46:49,00 even though they don't migrate,
46
49,00 -->
020
46:50,00 they're considered a migratory
46
50,00 -->
020
46:52,00 animal, because if they wanted
46
52,00 -->
020
46:54,00 to get off their lazy butt
46
54,00 -->
020
46:55,00 and migrate, they could.
46
55,00 -->
020
46:56,00 They have the capability.
46
56,00 -->
020
46:58,00 They just don't do it.
46
58,00 -->
020
47:00,00 They are considered a migratory
47
00,00 -->
020
47:01,00 animal, because they have
47
01,00 -->
020
47:03,00 the ability to fly across
47
03,00 -->
020
47:05,00 state boundaries.
47
05,00 -->
020
47:06,00 And any animal that's migratory
47
06,00 -->
020
47:09,00 by nature is a federal species,
47
09,00 -->
020
47:10,00 and you have to abide by
47
10,00 -->
020
47:11,00 the federal law.
47
11,00 -->
020
47:12,00 You also have to abide by state
47
12,00 -->
020
47:13,00 law, so any animals that
47
13,00 -->
020
47:15,00 are migratory, they also--
47
15,00 -->
020
47:17,00 The states weigh in and
47
17,00 -->
020
47:18,00 have regulations about migratory
47
18,00 -->
020
47:19,00 animals.
47
19,00 -->
020
47:21,00 But any animal within the
47
21,00 -->
020
47:22,00 confines of the state,
47
22,00 -->
020
47:24,00 the state DNR has jurisdiction
47
24,00 -->
020
47:27,00 over that.
47
27,00 -->
020
47:28,00 Then there's local laws
47
28,00 -->
020
47:29,00 you have to abide by.
47
29,00 -->
020
47:31,00 In many municipalities,
47
31,00 -->
020
47:34,00 you cannot fire a firearm,
47
34,00 -->
020
47:35,00 or bow and arrow, again,
47
35,00 -->
020
47:37,00 for good reason.
47
37,00 -->
020
47:38,00 But you'd better be aware of
47
38,00 -->
020
47:40,00 that as you try to navigate all
47
40,00 -->
020
47:41,00 of these management decisions
47
41,00 -->
020
47:42,00 about how you're going to manage
47
42,00 -->
020
47:43,00 the populations
47
43,00 -->
020
47:46,00 in urban suburban settings.
47
46,00 -->
020
47:48,00 What happens is that you have
47
48,00 -->
020
47:49,00 to create all of these different
47
49,00 -->
020
47:51,00 tools, and put new tools
47
51,00 -->
020
47:53,00 in the tool box in order to
47
53,00 -->
020
47:54,00 manage urban suburban wildlife
47
54,00 -->
020
47:56,00 populations.
47
56,00 -->
020
47:58,00 Again, the local ordinances.
47
58,00 -->
020
48:00,00 One thing that's down there
48
00,00 -->
020
48:01,00 in the lower left,
48
01,00 -->
020
48:02,00 that's called a propane cannon.
48
02,00 -->
020
48:03,00 Essentially, it's a big
48
03,00 -->
020
48:05,00 noise making cannon hooked up
48
05,00 -->
020
48:06,00 to the propane tank.
48
06,00 -->
020
48:08,00 There's a diaphragm in the can.
48
08,00 -->
020
48:09,00 And so as the gas bleeds into
48
09,00 -->
020
48:10,00 the diaphragm, eventually it
48
10,00 -->
020
48:13,00 gets so full, it just explodes.
48
13,00 -->
020
48:14,00 As it explodes, it creates this
48
14,00 -->
020
48:16,00 big, loud bang.
48
16,00 -->
020
48:18,00 If you're in areas where
48
18,00 -->
020
48:19,00 Canada geese are, or pigeons,
48
19,00 -->
020
48:21,00 or something like that,
48
21,00 -->
020
48:22,00 this is a very effective tool
48
22,00 -->
020
48:24,00 because that loud noise scares
48
24,00 -->
020
48:27,00 them out of the area.
48
27,00 -->
020
48:28,00 But there's local ordinances,
48
28,00 -->
020
48:30,00 and for good reason, saying you
48
30,00 -->
020
48:31,00 cannot create a noise above
48
31,00 -->
020
48:33,00 a certain decibel, because
48
33,00 -->
020
48:34,00 I don't want a propane cannon
48
34,00 -->
020
48:35,00 going off next to my house
48
35,00 -->
020
48:36,00
at 3
00 in the morning.
48
36,00 -->
020
48:37,00 I'm sure none of you do,
48
37,00 -->
020
48:38,00 as well.
48
38,00 -->
020
48:40,00 So that's a good example
48
40,00 -->
020
48:41,00 of a local ordinance that,
48
41,00 -->
020
48:42,00 it's a very effective management
48
42,00 -->
020
48:44,00 tool in its own right,
48
44,00 -->
020
48:45,00 but you can't use it in certain
48
45,00 -->
020
48:47,00 settings, simply because it's
48
47,00 -->
020
48:50,00 just not an appropriate tool.
48
50,00 -->
020
48:52,00 So the other thing is that
48
52,00 -->
020
48:54,00 a lot of times you're conducting
48
54,00 -->
020
48:55,00 management in public view,
48
55,00 -->
020
48:56,00 so this is not like
48
56,00 -->
020
48:57,00 up in the country.
48
57,00 -->
020
48:58,00 For example, if you're in the
48
58,00 -->
020
49:00,00 national forest, and you're out
49
00,00 -->
020
49:01,00 deer hunting, you may not see
49
01,00 -->
020
49:03,00 anybody out there all day long.
49
03,00 -->
020
49:05,00 But if you're trying to manage
49
05,00 -->
020
49:06,00 the Canada goose population
49
06,00 -->
020
49:09,00 over here at Marshall Park,
49
09,00 -->
020
49:09,00 and people are putting their
49
09,00 -->
020
49:11,00 boats in day in and day out,
49
11,00 -->
020
49:12,00 and moms and dads bringing
49
12,00 -->
020
49:13,00 their kids to picnic and play
49
13,00 -->
020
49:15,00 at the beach over there,
49
15,00 -->
020
49:16,00 and people are fishing, and
49
16,00 -->
020
49:17,00 you're trying to blast geese
49
17,00 -->
020
49:19,00 with use a 20-gauge,
49
19,00 -->
020
49:20,00 not everybody is for that.
49
20,00 -->
020
49:22,00 You have to be careful about
49
22,00 -->
020
49:24,00 conducting these management
49
24,00 -->
020
49:26,00 operations in public view, and
49
26,00 -->
020
49:29,00 be aware that a lot of things,
49
29,00 -->
020
49:31,00 especially lethally oriented,
49
31,00 -->
020
49:33,00 are very controversial,
49
33,00 -->
020
49:34,00 and people are not always
49
34,00 -->
020
49:35,00 going to agree with that.
49
35,00 -->
020
49:36,00 And I guarantee you,
49
36,00 -->
020
49:37,00 you will hear about it, if you
49
37,00 -->
020
49:39,00 do something like that.
49
39,00 -->
020
49:40,00 So you have to be really, really
49
40,00 -->
020
49:41,00 careful that you do something
49
41,00 -->
020
49:43,00 that has general public
49
43,00 -->
020
49:44,00 acceptance, and that the public
49
44,00 -->
020
49:50,00 is going to be tolerant of.
49
50,00 -->
020
49:51,00 So let me go back to this
49
51,00 -->
020
49:53,00 really quick.
49
53,00 -->
020
49:55,00 A friend of mine runs an
49
55,00 -->
020
49:57,00 operation called White Buffalo
49
57,00 -->
020
50:00,00 out of Connecticut.
50
00,00 -->
020
50:02,00 And Tony is his name.
50
02,00 -->
020
50:03,00 Tony is making a very, very
50
03,00 -->
020
50:05,00 handsome living right now, going
50
05,00 -->
020
50:08,00 into communities to shoot deer
50
08,00 -->
020
50:10,00 in suburban areas where the deer
50
10,00 -->
020
50:12,00 population has gotten so large.
50
12,00 -->
020
50:13,00 And I met Tony when I worked at
50
13,00 -->
020
50:15,00 Rutgers University, because
50
15,00 -->
020
50:16,00 New Jersey is overrun with deer,
50
16,00 -->
020
50:18,00 as it is with people.
50
18,00 -->
020
50:20,00 Tony, for example, went into
50
20,00 -->
020
50:21,00 Princeton, New Jersey, where
50
21,00 -->
020
50:23,00 Princeton University is.
50
23,00 -->
020
50:25,00 And in three years, he shot
50
25,00 -->
020
50:27,00 1,000 deer, at a cost to
50
27,00 -->
020
50:30,00 Princeton of roughly $1 million.
50
30,00 -->
020
50:33,00 So that's about $1,000 per deer.
50
33,00 -->
020
50:34,00 One of the reasons it's so
50
34,00 -->
020
50:35,00 expensive, is because he has
50
35,00 -->
020
50:37,00 to establish bait--
50
37,00 -->
020
50:38,00 For one thing he has to get
50
38,00 -->
020
50:39,00 written permission from
50
39,00 -->
020
50:41,00 land owners for where he shoots.
50
41,00 -->
020
50:43,00 He establishes bait piles.
50
43,00 -->
020
50:44,00 He sits in tree stands
50
44,00 -->
020
50:46,00 or drives around in a truck.
50
46,00 -->
020
50:48,00 But that's a rifle he's got.
50
48,00 -->
020
50:49,00 At the end of the rifle
50
49,00 -->
020
50:50,00 it's a silencer.
50
50,00 -->
020
50:51,00 He has a night vision scope
50
51,00 -->
020
50:52,00 on the rifle.
50
52,00 -->
020
50:54,00 He shoots primarily at night.
50
54,00 -->
020
50:55,00 He uses bullets that
50
55,00 -->
020
50:57,00 if they don't hit the deer,
50
57,00 -->
020
50:59,00 the first hard thing they hit,
50
59,00 -->
020
51:00,00 they just break apart, so you
51
00,00 -->
020
51:02,00 don't have a bullet traveling
51
02,00 -->
020
51:03,00 through a high
51
03,00 -->
020
51:05,00 densely populated area.
51
05,00 -->
020
51:07,00 It's an extremely logistically
51
07,00 -->
020
51:09,00 difficult and expensive
51
09,00 -->
020
51:10,00 operation to do, but that's why
51
10,00 -->
020
51:12,00 it costs so much money.
51
12,00 -->
020
51:13,00 So a lot of these areas
51
13,00 -->
020
51:14,00 in urban suburban areas,
51
14,00 -->
020
51:15,00 where you're trying to manage
51
15,00 -->
020
51:17,00 populations, it costs
51
17,00 -->
020
51:19,00 a lot of money to do that.
51
19,00 -->
020
51:20,00 And a lot of townships either
51
20,00 -->
020
51:21,00 don't want to spend the money,
51
21,00 -->
020
51:22,00 or more commonly,
51
22,00 -->
020
51:25,00 don't have the money to spend.
51
25,00 -->
020
51:26,00 So it is extremely difficult.
51
26,00 -->
020
51:27,00 You can manage populations
51
27,00 -->
020
51:28,00 of wildlife in urban suburban
51
28,00 -->
020
51:30,00 settings, but it's going to cost
51
30,00 -->
020
51:31,00 a lot of money to do so,
51
31,00 -->
020
51:34,00 depending on the species.
51
34,00 -->
020
51:36,00 So you have all of these
51
36,00 -->
020
51:37,00 non-lethal management options
51
37,00 -->
020
51:38,00 right here.
51
38,00 -->
020
51:40,00 Essentially, non-lethal means
51
40,00 -->
020
51:41,00 obviously, the animal is not
51
41,00 -->
020
51:42,00 going to get killed, it's going
51
42,00 -->
020
51:43,00 to live to another day.
51
43,00 -->
020
51:46,00 That's a very big plus, in that
51
46,00 -->
020
51:48,00 generally these, as a group
51
48,00 -->
020
51:50,00 of practices are very publicly
51
50,00 -->
020
51:52,00 acceptable, even animal rights
51
52,00 -->
020
51:55,00 people are for most of these
51
55,00 -->
020
51:57,00 non-lethal practices, because
51
57,00 -->
020
51:59,00 the animal is not getting
51
59,00 -->
020
52:01,00 killed, so you can operate
52
01,00 -->
020
52:03,00 and use these in the most public
52
03,00 -->
020
52:05,00 of areas, because it's not
52
05,00 -->
020
52:06,00 terribly controversial.
52
06,00 -->
020
52:08,00 It's not harmful to the general
52
08,00 -->
020
52:11,00 public, where the management
52
11,00 -->
020
52:14,00 option is being employed.
52
14,00 -->
020
52:15,00 So that's a very positive
52
15,00 -->
020
52:17,00 plus benefit.
52
17,00 -->
020
52:19,00 The down side is that this
52
19,00 -->
020
52:20,00 is really a band-aid approach.
52
20,00 -->
020
52:21,00 You're not solving the problem,
52
21,00 -->
020
52:23,00 you're just moving the problem
52
23,00 -->
020
52:24,00 somewhere else most of the time.
52
24,00 -->
020
52:25,00 And most of the time, you're
52
25,00 -->
020
52:26,00 moving it to your neighbor's
52
26,00 -->
020
52:27,00 yard.
52
27,00 -->
020
52:28,00 And depending on whether
52
28,00 -->
020
52:29,00 you like your neighbor not,
52
29,00 -->
020
52:31,00 that could be a good thing
52
31,00 -->
020
52:32,00 or a bad thing.
52
32,00 -->
020
52:33,00 But you're just moving
52
33,00 -->
020
52:34,00 the animal somewhere else.
52
34,00 -->
020
52:35,00 You're not reducing the number
52
35,00 -->
020
52:36,00 of the population, and
52
36,00 -->
020
52:37,00 therefore reducing the magnitude
52
37,00 -->
020
52:39,00 of the problem.
52
39,00 -->
020
52:40,00 The other thing, as a general
52
40,00 -->
020
52:41,00 group of practices, non-lethal
52
41,00 -->
020
52:43,00 management practices, are
52
43,00 -->
020
52:44,00 typically more expensive
52
44,00 -->
020
52:47,00 to employ as a group, than are
52
47,00 -->
020
52:49,00 lethal management practices.
52
49,00 -->
020
52:50,00 So there's a couple of up sides,
52
50,00 -->
020
52:52,00 down sides to this group
52
52,00 -->
020
52:53,00 of practices.
52
53,00 -->
020
52:55,00 Lethal management, on the other
52
55,00 -->
020
52:56,00 hand, is not applicable
52
56,00 -->
020
52:58,00 everywhere.
52
58,00 -->
020
52:59,00 If the governor called one day
52
59,00 -->
020
53:00,00 and said, hey, we have a pigeon
53
00,00 -->
020
53:01,00 problem.
53
01,00 -->
020
53:02,00 The pigeons are crapping all
53
02,00 -->
020
53:03,00 over my statue, and I don't want
53
03,00 -->
020
53:05,00 my head full of white poop.
53
05,00 -->
020
53:07,00 Come do something.
53
07,00 -->
020
53:08,00 I couldn't shoot them.
53
08,00 -->
020
53:11,00 It's just not legal to do that.
53
11,00 -->
020
53:12,00 These practices are not
53
12,00 -->
020
53:13,00 applicable, universally,
53
13,00 -->
020
53:15,00 in all situations.
53
15,00 -->
020
53:16,00 They are very controversial,
53
16,00 -->
020
53:17,00 depending on where you're
53
17,00 -->
020
53:19,00 employing the practices.
53
19,00 -->
020
53:20,00 They're not safe all the time,
53
20,00 -->
020
53:22,00 and things like that.
53
22,00 -->
020
53:24,00 So that's a down side.
53
24,00 -->
020
53:26,00 The upside is that you, as a
53
26,00 -->
020
53:27,00 group of practices, compared
53
27,00 -->
020
53:29,00 to non-lethal, they typically
53
29,00 -->
020
53:31,00 are more cost effective.
53
31,00 -->
020
53:32,00 And you have the ability
53
32,00 -->
020
53:35,00 to eliminate the problem.
53
35,00 -->
020
53:37,00 So, for example, sometimes
53
37,00 -->
020
53:38,00 woodpeckers are banging on
53
38,00 -->
020
53:39,00 somebody's house.
53
39,00 -->
020
53:41,00 And sometimes they're banging
53
41,00 -->
020
53:44,00 there because they're trying--
53
44,00 -->
020
53:45,00 If they're banging on your
53
45,00 -->
020
53:46,00 aluminum gutter, the male is
53
46,00 -->
020
53:48,00 banging in the spring.
53
48,00 -->
020
53:49,00 Banging on your aluminum gutter
53
49,00 -->
020
53:50,00 is like the male is up on the
53
50,00 -->
020
53:52,00 tallest flag pole with
53
52,00 -->
020
53:53,00 a bullhorn saying,
53
53,00 -->
020
53:54,00 hey, I'm horny.
53
54,00 -->
020
53:55,00 Where the heck are you?
53
55,00 -->
020
53:56,00 If you're a female, find me.
53
56,00 -->
020
53:58,00 Not everybody likes that,
53
58,00 -->
020
54:00,00 especially on a wood house.
54
00,00 -->
020
54:01,00 It's banging holes
54
01,00 -->
020
54:03,00 in your wood siding.
54
03,00 -->
020
54:04,00 There's a lot of things you can
54
04,00 -->
020
54:05,00 do non-lethally to stop
54
05,00 -->
020
54:06,00 the animal from doing that.
54
06,00 -->
020
54:08,00 If it doesn't work, you can get
54
08,00 -->
020
54:11,00 a permit to kill the animal.
54
11,00 -->
020
54:12,00 Typically once you kill that
54
12,00 -->
020
54:13,00 one animal, you've stopped
54
13,00 -->
020
54:15,00 the problem.
54
15,00 -->
020
54:17,00 That's an example of how lethal
54
17,00 -->
020
54:18,00 management can eliminate
54
18,00 -->
020
54:21,00 the problem.
54
21,00 -->
020
54:22,00 Or as in a larger setting,
54
22,00 -->
020
54:23,00 for example, let's say you've
54
23,00 -->
020
54:25,00 got a deer population just
54
25,00 -->
020
54:26,00 running across your town,
54
26,00 -->
020
54:28,00 and there's too many deer.
54
28,00 -->
020
54:29,00 As you start to reduce the deer
54
29,00 -->
020
54:30,00 population, you can start to
54
30,00 -->
020
54:32,00 slow or reduce the impacts
54
32,00 -->
020
54:34,00 and the negative effects
54
34,00 -->
020
54:35,00 of the deer, okay.
54
35,00 -->
020
54:36,00 You can reduce the deer
54
36,00 -->
020
54:37,00 populations, you can reduce
54
37,00 -->
020
54:38,00 landscape damage, and things
54
38,00 -->
020
54:40,00 like that.
54
40,00 -->
020
54:41,00 So there are some plus sides
54
41,00 -->
020
54:42,00 to lethal management, as well.
54
42,00 -->
020
54:44,00 Yes, ma'am?
54
44,00 -->
020
54:45,00 >> I lived in Chicago.
54
45,00 -->
020
54:46,00 They're having a terrible
54
46,00 -->
020
54:48,00 problem in the northern suburbs.
54
48,00 -->
020
54:50,00 The kids did not want them shot.
54
50,00 -->
020
54:52,00 The parents got together and
54
52,00 -->
020
54:54,00 felt this was politics.
54
54,00 -->
020
54:56,00 And they had the deer taken up
54
56,00 -->
020
54:59,00 to northern Wisconsin.
54
59,00 -->
020
55:00,00 >> Right.
55
00,00 -->
020
55:01,00 >> How long does it take the
55
01,00 -->
020
55:03,00 deer to come back?
55
03,00 -->
020
55:04,00 ( laughter )
55
04,00 -->
020
55:05,00 >> They probably don't come back
55
05,00 -->
020
55:06,00 down, but it's not cost
55
06,00 -->
020
55:08,00 effective.
55
08,00 -->
020
55:09,00 Nowadays, since chronic wasting
55
09,00 -->
020
55:10,00 disease, you cannot move deer
55
10,00 -->
020
55:12,00 across state lines, because
55
12,00 -->
020
55:13,00 they don't want--
55
13,00 -->
020
55:14,00 They're trying to isolate
55
14,00 -->
020
55:15,00 the disease.
55
15,00 -->
020
55:17,00 They don't want it to be spread
55
17,00 -->
020
55:18,00 by movement of the deer,
55
18,00 -->
020
55:19,00 so you can't do that any longer.
55
19,00 -->
020
55:21,00 It's unlikely the deer would
55
21,00 -->
020
55:23,00 move back down in that area.
55
23,00 -->
020
55:24,00 What is more likely, is
55
24,00 -->
020
55:25,00 eventually the deer in the
55
25,00 -->
020
55:27,00 surrounding areas would fill
55
27,00 -->
020
55:30,00 that vacuum in.
55
30,00 -->
020
55:32,00 So that's more of the issue.
55
32,00 -->
020
55:33,00 It's just not a cost effective
55
33,00 -->
020
55:36,00 thing to do.
55
36,00 -->
020
55:38,00 >> They move down for food.
55
38,00 -->
020
55:40,00 >> Yes, but a lot of times, and
55
40,00 -->
020
55:40,00 I'm not saying that's what's
55
40,00 -->
020
55:41,00 happening with the person that
55
41,00 -->
020
55:43,00 did this in the northern suburbs
55
43,00 -->
020
55:44,00 of Chicago, but a lot of times,
55
44,00 -->
020
55:45,00 is somebody says, yeah, we'll
55
45,00 -->
020
55:47,00 take them to Wisconsin.
55
47,00 -->
020
55:48,00 Then they take them across the
55
48,00 -->
020
55:49,00 state line and kill them
55
49,00 -->
020
55:50,00 and eat them.
55
50,00 -->
020
55:52,00 I'm not saying that's what that
55
52,00 -->
020
55:54,00 person did, but I know of people
55
54,00 -->
020
55:57,00 who have done that before.
55
57,00 -->
020
55:58,00 So, you know, what you're told
55
58,00 -->
020
56:00,00 is not always true, either.
56
00,00 -->
020
56:01,00 Then the last thing I just want
56
01,00 -->
020
56:03,00 to touch on quickly, and then
56
03,00 -->
020
56:04,00 we'll get to show and tell,
56
04,00 -->
020
56:05,00 and then you can--
56
05,00 -->
020
56:06,00 And you can walk out on me
56
06,00 -->
020
56:07,00 any time you want, if you're
56
07,00 -->
020
56:09,00 ready to go.
56
09,00 -->
020
56:10,00 You can walk out, please do.
56
10,00 -->
020
56:11,00 But I will do a little bit
56
11,00 -->
020
56:13,00 of show and tell quickly.
56
13,00 -->
020
56:14,00 I just want to talk quickly
56
14,00 -->
020
56:15,00 about some new management
56
15,00 -->
020
56:17,00 practices and a lot of these
56
17,00 -->
020
56:18,00 are directed primarily at deer,
56
18,00 -->
020
56:22,00 but somewhat at a resident
56
22,00 -->
020
56:24,00 Canada geese as well.
56
24,00 -->
020
56:26,00 And they really all focus
56
26,00 -->
020
56:27,00 on reproductive controls,
56
27,00 -->
020
56:29,00 or stopping reproduction.
56
29,00 -->
020
56:31,00 Sterilization works primarily
56
31,00 -->
020
56:32,00 for deer.
56
32,00 -->
020
56:33,00 Sterilization is being tried
56
33,00 -->
020
56:35,00 a couple of different ways,
56
35,00 -->
020
56:37,00 but one is field surgery,
56
37,00 -->
020
56:38,00 where you actually just would
56
38,00 -->
020
56:40,00 sterilize the animal
56
40,00 -->
020
56:41,00 through a surgical technique
56
41,00 -->
020
56:43,00 in the field.
56
43,00 -->
020
56:44,00 Other people are doing things
56
44,00 -->
020
56:47,00 like looking at chemotherapy
56
47,00 -->
020
56:48,00 treatments, for example,
56
48,00 -->
020
56:49,00 one of the side effects of some
56
49,00 -->
020
56:50,00 of the chemotherapy drugs
56
50,00 -->
020
56:52,00 is sterilization.
56
52,00 -->
020
56:54,00 You can inject deer,
56
54,00 -->
020
56:55,00 for example, with a chemotherapy
56
55,00 -->
020
56:57,00 agent and the side effect
56
57,00 -->
020
56:59,00 is that they're sterilized,
56
59,00 -->
020
57:02,00 so people are exploring that.
57
02,00 -->
020
57:03,00 With immuno-contraception,
57
03,00 -->
020
57:07,00 there are a number of options.
57
07,00 -->
020
57:09,00 You can try what's called
57
09,00 -->
020
57:10,00 like Norplant, a human
57
10,00 -->
020
57:13,00 birth control, where it's
57
13,00 -->
020
57:16,00 a long lasting, slow release
57
16,00 -->
020
57:17,00 birth control that you would
57
17,00 -->
020
57:18,00 actually implant
57
18,00 -->
020
57:19,00 under the skin.
57
19,00 -->
020
57:20,00 You can try that.
57
20,00 -->
020
57:23,00 PZP is a type of antibody
57
23,00 -->
020
57:27,00 that, essentially, what happens
57
27,00 -->
020
57:29,00 is it's an antibody that's
57
29,00 -->
020
57:31,00 injected into the animal, and
57
31,00 -->
020
57:33,00 it goes and attacks the eggs.
57
33,00 -->
020
57:35,00 It looks at the egg as an
57
35,00 -->
020
57:38,00 infective agent, and it
57
38,00 -->
020
57:40,00 surrounds it with a membrane
57
40,00 -->
020
57:41,00 so the sperm can't fertilize
57
41,00 -->
020
57:43,00 that egg.
57
43,00 -->
020
57:46,00 Another option along with
57
46,00 -->
020
57:47,00 sterilization and
57
47,00 -->
020
57:49,00 immuno-contraception
57
49,00 -->
020
57:50,00 is contra gestation.
57
50,00 -->
020
57:51,00 Essentially, what that is,
57
51,00 -->
020
57:53,00 it's an abortive agent that
57
53,00 -->
020
57:55,00 once the doe is pregnant,
57
55,00 -->
020
57:58,00 you would introduce this agent,
57
58,00 -->
020
58:00,00 and it causes an abortion
58
00,00 -->
020
58:01,00 of the fetus, which is not an
58
01,00 -->
020
58:03,00 ideal thing to do obviously,
58
03,00 -->
020
58:04,00 especially in urban suburban
58
04,00 -->
020
58:06,00 settings, for aborted fetuses
58
06,00 -->
020
58:07,00 to be dropped on people's front
58
07,00 -->
020
58:09,00 lawns, is not winning the
58
09,00 -->
020
58:13,00 public relations war anywhere.
58
13,00 -->
020
58:16,00 So all of those as a practice
58
16,00 -->
020
58:18,00 are being tried and they've been
58
18,00 -->
020
58:19,00 proven to be effective
58
19,00 -->
020
58:20,00 on individual deer, but the real
58
20,00 -->
020
58:23,00 problem is that it is so
58
23,00 -->
020
58:24,00 cost ineffective, because you
58
24,00 -->
020
58:26,00 have to treat each animal.
58
26,00 -->
020
58:27,00 It's very labor intensive,
58
27,00 -->
020
58:29,00 large handling time and
58
29,00 -->
020
58:31,00 very, very expensive
58
31,00 -->
020
58:33,00 and so far, nothing has been
58
33,00 -->
020
58:34,00 FDA approved.
58
34,00 -->
020
58:35,00 The Food and Drug Administration
58
35,00 -->
020
58:36,00 has to approve these agents
58
36,00 -->
020
58:37,00 before they're used on a
58
37,00 -->
020
58:39,00 wide scale, and none of these
58
39,00 -->
020
58:40,00 to my knowledge, have been
58
40,00 -->
020
58:43,00 approved yet by the FDA.
58
43,00 -->
020
58:44,00 Ideally you would like to do
58
44,00 -->
020
58:45,00 is develop something that you
58
45,00 -->
020
58:47,00 can administer in a bait pile
58
47,00 -->
020
58:49,00 full of corn, or it could be
58
49,00 -->
020
58:51,00 an extruded artificial product
58
51,00 -->
020
58:53,00 that deer would come eat,
58
53,00 -->
020
58:54,00 apples or whatever.
58
54,00 -->
020
58:57,00 You can bait the pile, and
58
57,00 -->
020
58:59,00 as the deer eat the bait,
58
59,00 -->
020
59:00,00 they ingest the agent, and
59
00,00 -->
020
59:03,00 they're treated in a mass scale,
59
03,00 -->
020
59:05,00 very cost effectively.
59
05,00 -->
020
59:08,00 But the hurdle, currently,
59
08,00 -->
020
59:09,00 is that there's a lot of other
59
09,00 -->
020
59:10,00 things that come to those
59
10,00 -->
020
59:12,00 bait piles, and you don't know
59
12,00 -->
020
59:13,00 how that's going to affect
59
13,00 -->
020
59:15,00 the non-target wildlife,
59
15,00 -->
020
59:18,00 including human kids, who might
59
18,00 -->
020
59:20,00 come and eat an apple.
59
20,00 -->
020
59:21,00 If you screw up their
59
21,00 -->
020
59:22,00 reproduction the rest of their
59
22,00 -->
020
59:24,00 life, you'll hear about that.
59
24,00 -->
020
59:25,00 The other issue
59
25,00 -->
020
59:27,00 is dosage issues.
59
27,00 -->
020
59:29,00 You might have, you know,
59
29,00 -->
020
59:32,00 a 120-pound deer, adult deer
59
32,00 -->
020
59:34,00 and a 30-pound fawn.
59
34,00 -->
020
59:36,00 The fawn might not have to
59
36,00 -->
020
59:37,00 ingest as much, because
59
37,00 -->
020
59:38,00 a lot of times,
59
38,00 -->
020
59:39,00 dosage is based on weight,
59
39,00 -->
020
59:41,00 as the buck would, for example.
59
41,00 -->
020
59:43,00 If the buck only eats for
59
43,00 -->
020
59:44,00 10 seconds, and the fawn eats
59
44,00 -->
020
59:45,00 for 10 seconds, does the buck
59
45,00 -->
020
59:46,00 get enough agent
59
46,00 -->
020
59:50,00 to cause any effect?
59
50,00 -->
020
59:52,00 Then the whole other issue
59
52,00 -->
020
59:54,00 is even if you could treat
59
54,00 -->
020
59:55,00 on a wide scale basis
59
55,00 -->
020
59:57,00 cost effectively, that animal
59
57,00 -->
020
59:59,00 is still running around.
59
59,00 -->
021
00:00,00 So it's still getting in the way
00
00,00 -->
021
00:02,00 of vehicles, it's still eating
00
02,00 -->
021
00:03,00 the landscape plants, and still
00
03,00 -->
021
00:05,00 causing agricultural damage,
00
05,00 -->
021
00:07,00 and other things like that.
00
07,00 -->
021
00:09,00 Even if they can work this out,
00
09,00 -->
021
00:11,00 it is not a silver bullet that
00
11,00 -->
021
00:12,00 a lot of people were hoping for.
00
12,00 -->
021
00:15,00 The other thing with geese,
00
15,00 -->
021
00:16,00 that last point is, again,
00
16,00 -->
021
00:19,00 this is not cost effective,
00
19,00 -->
021
00:20,00 because you have such a large
00
20,00 -->
021
00:21,00 handling time and it's so
00
21,00 -->
021
00:22,00 labor intensive.
00
22,00 -->
021
00:23,00 But you can essentially, with
00
23,00 -->
021
00:25,00 Canada geese, they're what's
00
25,00 -->
021
00:27,00 called indeterminate nesters,
00
27,00 -->
021
00:30,00 so if the nest gets destroyed,
00
30,00 -->
021
00:31,00 they will get rebred by their
00
31,00 -->
021
00:32,00 life mate and just go and
00
32,00 -->
021
00:34,00 establish another nest.
00
34,00 -->
021
00:35,00 It could be right next to it,
00
35,00 -->
021
00:38,00 down the shore, whatever.
00
38,00 -->
021
00:39,00 So what you want to do instead
00
39,00 -->
021
00:41,00 is kill the embryo inside the
00
41,00 -->
021
00:43,00 egg, but leave the egg intact.
00
43,00 -->
021
00:46,00 It tricks the mom thinking,
00
46,00 -->
021
00:48,00 well, my nest is fine,
00
48,00 -->
021
00:50,00 I'll keep sitting here.
00
50,00 -->
021
00:51,00 By the time she realizes that
00
51,00 -->
021
00:53,00 nothing's hatched out,
00
53,00 -->
021
00:54,00 it's so late into the breeding
00
54,00 -->
021
00:55,00 season, that she doesn't
00
55,00 -->
021
00:56,00 re-breed.
00
56,00 -->
021
00:58,00 The young can't be raised
00
58,00 -->
021
00:59,00 in time to get out of here
00
59,00 -->
021
01:01,00 before winter comes.
01
01,00 -->
021
01:03,00 Shaking the eggs vigorously,
01
03,00 -->
021
01:05,00 kills the embryo and
01
05,00 -->
021
01:07,00 disrupts the membranes
01
07,00 -->
021
01:08,00 and the blood vessels.
01
08,00 -->
021
01:10,00 You can puncture them, as seen
01
10,00 -->
021
01:12,00 in the picture down there,
01
12,00 -->
021
01:13,00 or you can oil them.
01
13,00 -->
021
01:15,00 And by oiling, that oil clogs
01
15,00 -->
021
01:16,00 the microscopic pores in the
01
16,00 -->
021
01:17,00 egg shell, and essentially cuts
01
17,00 -->
021
01:19,00 the embryo off from the outside
01
19,00 -->
021
01:20,00 world, so there's no moisture
01
20,00 -->
021
01:22,00 or air exchange.
01
22,00 -->
021
01:23,00 One of the things people are
01
23,00 -->
021
01:24,00 experimenting with and they're
01
24,00 -->
021
01:26,00 looking at, is this agent
01
26,00 -->
021
01:28,00 that was used in commercial
01
28,00 -->
021
01:30,00 poultry operations that does not
01
30,00 -->
021
01:32,00 allow the yolk to form
01
32,00 -->
021
01:34,00 inside the egg.
01
34,00 -->
021
01:36,00 If the yolk can't form,
01
36,00 -->
021
01:37,00 you obviously don't have
01
37,00 -->
021
01:39,00 a viable embryo in the egg,
01
39,00 -->
021
01:41,00 so they're trying to figure out
01
41,00 -->
021
01:42,00 a way to introduce something
01
42,00 -->
021
01:44,00 in a bait pile, again, in a
01
44,00 -->
021
01:46,00 bait pile that geese can eat,
01
46,00 -->
021
01:48,00 and then they will lay the eggs
01
48,00 -->
021
01:51,00 but the embryo is not viable,
01
51,00 -->
021
01:52,00 and the mom will just continue
01
52,00 -->
021
01:53,00 to sit on them, but nothing
01
53,00 -->
021
01:54,00 hatches out, so you're not
01
54,00 -->
021
01:56,00 adding to the population.
01
56,00 -->
021
01:57,00 So there's a bunch of issues
01
57,00 -->
021
01:58,00 going on.
01
58,00 -->
021
01:59,00 This really is cutting edge
01
59,00 -->
021
02:01,00 science, but there are a lot
02
01,00 -->
021
02:02,00 of hurdles to overcome before
02
02,00 -->
021
02:04,00 they ever get to that point of
02
04,00 -->
021
02:05,00 doing something cost effectively
02
05,00 -->
021
02:10,00 on a large scale population.
02
10,00 -->
021
02:11,00 Are there any questions?
02
11,00 -->
021
02:12,00 Maybe I can take a couple of
02
12,00 -->
021
02:13,00 questions, while I get out
02
13,00 -->
021
02:16,00 some of the show and tell stuff.
02
16,00 -->
021
02:18,00 Yes, ma'am?
02
18,00 -->
021
02:21,00 >> At one time, you were
02
21,00 -->
021
02:27,00 encouraged to kill male deer
02
27,00 -->
021
02:28,00 on the assumption, of course,
02
28,00 -->
021
02:30,00 that they couldn't impregnate
02
30,00 -->
021
02:32,00 the female.
02
32,00 -->
021
02:33,00 >> Right.
02
33,00 -->
021
02:35,00 >> Then it was discovered that
02
35,00 -->
021
02:39,00 the offspring, maybe the next
02
39,00 -->
021
02:42,00 season or something, the fawns
02
42,00 -->
021
02:46,00 were predominantly male.
02
46,00 -->
021
02:48,00 They produced more male fawns
02
48,00 -->
021
02:51,00 than females.
02
51,00 -->
021
02:52,00 Is that true?
02
52,00 -->
021
02:54,00 >> I'm not exactly sure
02
54,00 -->
021
02:58,00 what the ratio of the fawns.
02
58,00 -->
021
02:59,00 A lot of times it's one-to-one.
02
59,00 -->
021
03:02,00 You might have, you know,
03
02,00 -->
021
03:04,00 one male to one female fawn.
03
04,00 -->
021
03:05,00 The bigger issue why people were
03
05,00 -->
021
03:07,00 encouraged, actually, it
03
07,00 -->
021
03:09,00 was illegal to shoot female deer
03
09,00 -->
021
03:11,00 for a long time in many states
03
11,00 -->
021
03:13,00 east of the Mississippi River,
03
13,00 -->
021
03:14,00 simply because the deer had been
03
14,00 -->
021
03:18,00 hunted near to extermination.
03
18,00 -->
021
03:21,00 Since the females are the ones
03
21,00 -->
021
03:22,00 who, you know, boost the
03
22,00 -->
021
03:24,00 population by adding offspring
03
24,00 -->
021
03:26,00 to the population, if you didn't
03
26,00 -->
021
03:28,00 shoot the female, then,
03
28,00 -->
021
03:29,00 you allow the female
03
29,00 -->
021
03:31,00 to drop the fawn
03
31,00 -->
021
03:32,00 and add to the population.
03
32,00 -->
021
03:34,00 That was the primary reason only
03
34,00 -->
021
03:35,00 the males were encouraged to
03
35,00 -->
021
03:37,00 be hunted and not the females.
03
37,00 -->
021
03:39,00 Hunting is a very interesting
03
39,00 -->
021
03:42,00 social phenomena, in the fact
03
42,00 -->
021
03:44,00 that typically, if your parents
03
44,00 -->
021
03:45,00 or grandparents didn't hunt,
03
45,00 -->
021
03:47,00 you don't hunt.
03
47,00 -->
021
03:48,00 And it's handed down
03
48,00 -->
021
03:49,00 by generation.
03
49,00 -->
021
03:50,00 A lot of people, grandparents
03
50,00 -->
021
03:52,00 and parents grew up under the
03
52,00 -->
021
03:54,00 law of, don't shoot female deer.
03
54,00 -->
021
03:56,00 For one thing, it was law.
03
56,00 -->
021
03:58,00 It was also as an ethical hunter
03
58,00 -->
021
04:00,00 you don't do that.
04
00,00 -->
021
04:01,00 Now that the populations
04
01,00 -->
021
04:03,00 have recovered so that the DNR
04
03,00 -->
021
04:06,00 wants you to shoot females.
04
06,00 -->
021
04:07,00 The DNR in our state, and all
04
07,00 -->
021
04:08,00 other states, want you to shoot
04
08,00 -->
021
04:09,00 the females.
04
09,00 -->
021
04:11,00 They've gone so far as to create
04
11,00 -->
021
04:12,00 incentives called "earn a buck"
04
12,00 -->
021
04:13,00 where you actually
04
13,00 -->
021
04:14,00 have to shoot a female
04
14,00 -->
021
04:17,00 before you shoot a buck.
04
17,00 -->
021
04:18,00 But it is so ingrained,
04
18,00 -->
021
04:19,00 especially in the older
04
19,00 -->
021
04:20,00 generations, that you simply
04
20,00 -->
021
04:22,00 don't shoot female deer, that
04
22,00 -->
021
04:24,00 they don't shoot female deer.
04
24,00 -->
021
04:26,00 On top of it, you have kind of
04
26,00 -->
021
04:28,00 the issue of the trophy hunters.
04
28,00 -->
021
04:29,00 The females don't grow the
04
29,00 -->
021
04:30,00 antlers, and a lot of people
04
30,00 -->
021
04:31,00 want to hang the big buck
04
31,00 -->
021
04:33,00 with the antlers on the wall.
04
33,00 -->
021
04:34,00 There's a lot of interesting
04
34,00 -->
021
04:36,00 social dynamics to that.
04
36,00 -->
021
04:38,00 Yes?
04
38,00 -->
021
04:40,00 >> Talk about the problem
04
40,00 -->
021
04:41,00 of wolves now that they've
04
41,00 -->
021
04:43,00 returned.
04
43,00 -->
021
04:44,00 >> Yep, and it may not be
04
44,00 -->
021
04:46,00 a problem, it may be, depending
04
46,00 -->
021
04:47,00 on your perspective.
04
47,00 -->
021
04:51,00 The Great Lakes wolf population
04
51,00 -->
021
04:52,00 was delisted, or taken off the
04
52,00 -->
021
04:54,00 United States endangered species
04
54,00 -->
021
04:56,00 list last March, because
04
56,00 -->
021
04:57,00 the wolf population in the
04
57,00 -->
021
04:59,00 Great Lakes region had recovered
04
59,00 -->
021
05:01,00 so well, simply because of
05
01,00 -->
021
05:03,00 the habitat that's available
05
03,00 -->
021
05:04,00 to them, and also because the
05
04,00 -->
021
05:06,00 states have done such a great
05
06,00 -->
021
05:08,00 job of managing populations,
05
08,00 -->
021
05:09,00 they were finally removed from
05
09,00 -->
021
05:11,00 the endangered species list.
05
11,00 -->
021
05:12,00 Now what's going to have to
05
12,00 -->
021
05:16,00 happen is that the DNR is that
05
16,00 -->
021
05:18,00 is struggling with, do we
05
18,00 -->
021
05:20,00 create a trapping and/or hunting
05
20,00 -->
021
05:22,00 season on wolves.
05
22,00 -->
021
05:23,00 Because the wolf population
05
23,00 -->
021
05:24,00 is going to get--
05
24,00 -->
021
05:26,00 I mean, there are conflicts
05
26,00 -->
021
05:27,00 with the humans right now,
05
27,00 -->
021
05:29,00 in terms of the wolves are
05
29,00 -->
021
05:31,00 eating the livestock and pets,
05
31,00 -->
021
05:33,00 and, you know, hunting hounds,
05
33,00 -->
021
05:34,00 and things like that.
05
34,00 -->
021
05:38,00 So those are going to increase
05
38,00 -->
021
05:39,00 as more and more people
05
39,00 -->
021
05:40,00 move further north in Wisconsin
05
40,00 -->
021
05:42,00 and as the wolf population
05
42,00 -->
021
05:43,00 increases in size.
05
43,00 -->
021
05:45,00 Typically, what happens also,
05
45,00 -->
021
05:46,00 is that for a game species
05
46,00 -->
021
05:48,00 or a game population
05
48,00 -->
021
05:49,00 that what you want to do
05
49,00 -->
021
05:50,00 is skim that recruitment off.
05
50,00 -->
021
05:51,00 You want to hold the population
05
51,00 -->
021
05:53,00 steady, so you would allow
05
53,00 -->
021
05:56,00 a harvest level that would
05
56,00 -->
021
05:58,00 equal the recruitment rate from
05
58,00 -->
021
06:00,00 that previous year's population
06
00,00 -->
021
06:01,00 recruitment, so I think
06
01,00 -->
021
06:02,00 that's going to be the next
06
02,00 -->
021
06:04,00 big controversy, is the DNR is
06
04,00 -->
021
06:05,00 going to have to do something,
06
05,00 -->
021
06:07,00 allowing either a
06
07,00 -->
021
06:09,00 hunting and/or trapping season.
06
09,00 -->
021
06:10,00 It's going to be an interesting
06
10,00 -->
021
06:12,00 thing to watch.
06
12,00 -->
021
06:14,00 Yes, sir?
06
14,00 -->
021
06:20,00 >> --ethanol and corn--
06
20,00 -->
021
06:22,00 >> I'm not going to touch that.
06
22,00 -->
021
06:24,00 I've got my own personal
06
24,00 -->
021
06:25,00 opinions, and I don't.
06
25,00 -->
021
06:27,00 Yeah, Tom?
06
27,00 -->
021
06:28,00 I'm sorry.
06
28,00 -->
021
06:32,00 The question was, raising corn
06
32,00 -->
021
06:33,00 for ethanol has been termed
06
33,00 -->
021
06:35,00 a crime against humanity.
06
35,00 -->
021
06:36,00 I don't know if I would go that
06
36,00 -->
021
06:39,00 far, and this is strictly my
06
39,00 -->
021
06:41,00 personal opinion, so
06
41,00 -->
021
06:42,00 the University of Wisconsin
06
42,00 -->
021
06:43,00 doesn't endorse this, nor does
06
43,00 -->
021
06:45,00 the Extension service,
06
45,00 -->
021
06:46,00 and things like that.
06
46,00 -->
021
06:47,00 Depending on what studies you
06
47,00 -->
021
06:48,00 look at, it certainly looks like
06
48,00 -->
021
06:50,00 there's a lot more input
06
50,00 -->
021
06:51,00 than there is output
06
51,00 -->
021
06:53,00 in terms of a gallon of ethanol.
06
53,00 -->
021
06:55,00 From my personal opinion and
06
55,00 -->
021
06:57,00 where I stand, that there's
06
57,00 -->
021
06:59,00 a lot more detriment to raising
06
59,00 -->
021
07:00,00 more corn for ethanol than
07
00,00 -->
021
07:02,00 if you just kept that corn
07
02,00 -->
021
07:03,00 you know, kept that land
07
03,00 -->
021
07:05,00 in wildlife habitat,
07
05,00 -->
021
07:07,00 and things like that.
07
07,00 -->
021
07:08,00 If you look at cellulosic
07
08,00 -->
021
07:11,00 ethanol or cellulosic type fuels
07
11,00 -->
021
07:13,00 or more biofuel, or cellulosic
07
13,00 -->
021
07:15,00 based, out of woody vegetation,
07
15,00 -->
021
07:16,00 that looks like it has
07
16,00 -->
021
07:18,00 more promise.
07
18,00 -->
021
07:19,00 If you look down in Venezuela,
07
19,00 -->
021
07:21,00 for example, they've for decades
07
21,00 -->
021
07:24,00 now, have had sugar cane fuel,
07
24,00 -->
021
07:26,00 because sugar cane has such
07
26,00 -->
021
07:27,00 a higher return, there's so much
07
27,00 -->
021
07:29,00 more alcohol tied up in the
07
29,00 -->
021
07:31,00 sugar than there is in corn,
07
31,00 -->
021
07:32,00 so that seems a little bit more
07
32,00 -->
021
07:34,00 efficient and effective than
07
34,00 -->
021
07:36,00 corn ethanol does, but that's,
07
36,00 -->
021
07:38,00 I guess, as far as I'll go
07
38,00 -->
021
07:41,00 with it.
07
41,00 -->
021
07:43,00 Yes?
07
43,00 -->
021
07:44,00 >> Do you know what's happening
07
44,00 -->
021
07:46,00 with our honey bees
07
46,00 -->
021
07:47,00 and their demise?
07
47,00 -->
021
07:49,00 >> Well, I don't.
07
49,00 -->
021
07:50,00 Do you know what's happening
07
50,00 -->
021
07:52,00 with the honey bees?
07
52,00 -->
021
07:53,00 I don't know for a fact, and
07
53,00 -->
021
07:55,00 I guess if you ever have
07
55,00 -->
021
07:56,00 Phil Pellitteri here, that would
07
56,00 -->
021
07:58,00 be a good question for him.
07
58,00 -->
021
08:00,00 Let me see if there's any more
08
00,00 -->
021
08:01,00 questions and otherwise, I'll
08
01,00 -->
021
08:02,00 just talk about some animals
08
02,00 -->
021
08:03,00 quickly.
08
03,00 -->
021
08:04,00 I don't know if you're going
08
04,00 -->
021
08:06,00 to be able to see this.
08
06,00 -->
021
08:07,00 I didn't realize that there
08
07,00 -->
021
08:08,00 would be so many people,
08
08,00 -->
021
08:09,00 and it would be like this.
08
09,00 -->
021
08:11,00 But this is just
08
11,00 -->
021
08:13,00 a sharp chinned hawk.
08
13,00 -->
021
08:15,00 It's a small type of raptor.
08
15,00 -->
021
08:17,00 They do really well
08
17,00 -->
021
08:18,00 in urban suburban settings,
08
18,00 -->
021
08:19,00 because they're another
08
19,00 -->
021
08:20,00 bird eating bird.
08
20,00 -->
021
08:21,00 They look at the bird feeders
08
21,00 -->
021
08:24,00 as a buffet line.
08
24,00 -->
021
08:26,00 Oh, yeah, the lights.
08
26,00 -->
021
08:29,00 So let's see,
08
29,00 -->
021
08:34,00 stage, okay, there we go.
08
34,00 -->
021
08:37,00 Cooper hawks also do very well
08
37,00 -->
021
08:39,00 in and around urban suburban
08
39,00 -->
021
08:40,00 settings, because they see
08
40,00 -->
021
08:42,00 bird feeders as a smorgasbord.
08
42,00 -->
021
08:47,00 That's one example there.
08
47,00 -->
021
08:49,00 Here is the scourge of the bird
08
49,00 -->
021
08:51,00 world, really of the natural
08
51,00 -->
021
08:53,00 world, the European starling.
08
53,00 -->
021
08:54,00 This is a non-native exotic
08
54,00 -->
021
08:56,00 species.
08
56,00 -->
021
08:57,00 They're not protected by law.
08
57,00 -->
021
08:59,00 You're encouraged to kill them
08
59,00 -->
021
09:00,00 when you see them any time of
09
00,00 -->
021
09:02,00 the year, because they compete
09
02,00 -->
021
09:04,00 with the native birds,
09
04,00 -->
021
09:07,00 and usually out-compete them.
09
07,00 -->
021
09:08,00 Interesting story about this,
09
08,00 -->
021
09:10,00 there's a gentleman back in the
09
10,00 -->
021
09:11,00 early 1900s, who came to America
09
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021
09:13,00 from England and he was
09
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021
09:14,00 a fanatical fan of Shakespeare's
09
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021
09:16,00 works.
09
16,00 -->
021
09:19,00 And he came to America with the
09
19,00 -->
021
09:21,00 idea of introducing to America
09
21,00 -->
021
09:23,00 a representative of every single
09
23,00 -->
021
09:25,00 bird species mentioned
09
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021
09:27,00 in the Shakespeare's works.
09
27,00 -->
021
09:28,00 So he got the starling and
09
28,00 -->
021
09:29,00 the English sparrow to America,
09
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021
09:30,00 and thankfully he died
09
30,00 -->
021
09:32,00 before he got further along.
09
32,00 -->
021
09:34,00 The starling and English sparrow
09
34,00 -->
021
09:36,00 both are non-native species,
09
36,00 -->
021
09:38,00 and both have done a tremendous
09
38,00 -->
021
09:39,00 job of out-competing the
09
39,00 -->
021
09:41,00 native species of birds.
09
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021
09:42,00 This is an example
09
42,00 -->
021
09:44,00 of a cedar waxwing.
09
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021
09:46,00 Just absolutely beautiful bird,
09
46,00 -->
021
09:47,00 a yellow tail.
09
47,00 -->
021
09:49,00 It looks like the ends of the
09
49,00 -->
021
09:50,00 wings have been dipped in red
09
50,00 -->
021
09:51,00 wax, that's why it's the
09
51,00 -->
021
09:53,00 cedar waxwing.
09
53,00 -->
021
09:54,00 It's amazing how we come up
09
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021
09:56,00 with the names.
09
56,00 -->
021
09:57,00 These are birds that a lot of
09
57,00 -->
021
09:59,00 times in the spring and fall
09
59,00 -->
021
10:00,00 you'll see them congregate
10
00,00 -->
021
10:01,00 in large numbers, especially
10
01,00 -->
021
10:02,00 in trees that have berries,
10
02,00 -->
021
10:03,00 like ash trees, for example,
10
03,00 -->
021
10:05,00 holly trees.
10
05,00 -->
021
10:06,00 And they are very common in
10
06,00 -->
021
10:07,00 urban suburban settings, because
10
07,00 -->
021
10:11,00 we plant so much native and
10
11,00 -->
021
10:13,00 non-native vegetation that are
10
13,00 -->
021
10:15,00 berry plants, so they do great
10
15,00 -->
021
10:17,00 in urban suburban settings.
10
17,00 -->
021
10:18,00 And a really interesting thing
10
18,00 -->
021
10:20,00 about these birds, is that
10
20,00 -->
021
10:22,00 they actually will cause
10
22,00 -->
021
10:24,00 themselves to get drunk.
10
24,00 -->
021
10:25,00 So in the spring, when those
10
25,00 -->
021
10:27,00 berries freeze at night, but
10
27,00 -->
021
10:29,00 then thaw during the day,
10
29,00 -->
021
10:31,00 so just about the time when
10
31,00 -->
021
10:32,00 it starts to tap into your trees
10
32,00 -->
021
10:33,00 for maple syrup, for example,
10
33,00 -->
021
10:35,00 the berries, they thaw
10
35,00 -->
021
10:36,00 in the day, freeze at night.
10
36,00 -->
021
10:37,00 As that goes through
10
37,00 -->
021
10:42,00 the freeze thaw, it ferments.
10
42,00 -->
021
10:44,00 As they eat the berries,
10
44,00 -->
021
10:46,00 they actually get drunk
10
46,00 -->
021
10:48,00 and you'll see them flying
10
48,00 -->
021
10:49,00 just kind of weaving their way
10
49,00 -->
021
10:51,00 down the road.
10
51,00 -->
021
10:53,00 ( inaudible )
10
53,00 -->
021
10:55,00 Well, good point.
10
55,00 -->
021
10:59,00 Good point.
10
59,00 -->
021
11:00,00 And then the other bird that
11
00,00 -->
021
11:02,00 I brought just as an example,
11
02,00 -->
021
11:06,00 this is a tiny house finch.
11
06,00 -->
021
11:09,00 It's named house finch, because
11
09,00 -->
021
11:10,00 it's found a lot of times
11
10,00 -->
021
11:12,00 around houses.
11
12,00 -->
021
11:14,00 A really kind of cool thing
11
14,00 -->
021
11:15,00 about these birds, these used
11
15,00 -->
021
11:17,00 to be called Hollywood finches.
11
17,00 -->
021
11:18,00 They were brought in
11
18,00 -->
021
11:19,00 to the eastern part
11
19,00 -->
021
11:21,00 of the United States as part
11
21,00 -->
021
11:22,00 of the illegal pet trade.
11
22,00 -->
021
11:24,00 If you look at a bird book
11
24,00 -->
021
11:27,00 back in the 1920s or so,
11
27,00 -->
021
11:28,00 the range of this bird is
11
28,00 -->
021
11:29,00 simply down the west coast
11
29,00 -->
021
11:31,00 of the United States.
11
31,00 -->
021
11:32,00 And then if you look in the
11
32,00 -->
021
11:34,00 bird book, about 1940, 1950,
11
34,00 -->
021
11:36,00 or 1960, the range is along
11
36,00 -->
021
11:38,00 the west coast and east coast
11
38,00 -->
021
11:39,00 of the United States,
11
39,00 -->
021
11:40,00 but nothing in the middle of the
11
40,00 -->
021
11:41,00 United States, because the birds
11
41,00 -->
021
11:43,00 were imported to the west coast
11
43,00 -->
021
11:44,00 and sold in pet shops
11
44,00 -->
021
11:46,00 as Hollywood finches.
11
46,00 -->
021
11:48,00 As pet shops got raided,
11
48,00 -->
021
11:49,00 and for whatever reason you raid
11
49,00 -->
021
11:50,00 a pet shop I don't know, but
11
50,00 -->
021
11:52,00 the pet shop owners released
11
52,00 -->
021
11:54,00 the birds into the wild.
11
54,00 -->
021
11:56,00 Now if you look at a bird book,
11
56,00 -->
021
11:57,00 house finches are across
11
57,00 -->
021
11:58,00 the entire United States.
11
58,00 -->
021
11:59,00 They kind of filled
11
59,00 -->
021
12:01,00 the middle in from the edges.
12
01,00 -->
021
12:02,00 But that's kind of
12
02,00 -->
021
12:03,00 an interesting thing.
12
03,00 -->
021
12:04,00 They are very much associated
12
04,00 -->
021
12:06,00 in urban suburban settings.
12
06,00 -->
021
12:07,00 Tom?
12
07,00 -->
021
12:08,00 >> Unlike botonists,
12
08,00 -->
021
12:10,00 bird people, what is the
12
10,00 -->
021
12:16,00 official common name for that?
12
16,00 -->
021
12:18,00 >> House finch.
12
18,00 -->
021
12:23,00 ( laughter )
12
23,00 -->
021
12:24,00 >> It got trumped?
12
24,00 -->
021
12:28,00 >> Yep, nobody likes Hollywood.
12
28,00 -->
021
12:29,00 All right.
12
29,00 -->
021
12:30,00 I don't know how
12
30,00 -->
021
12:31,00 you're going to see this,
12
31,00 -->
021
12:34,00 but these are bats.
12
34,00 -->
021
12:36,00 Bat species.
12
36,00 -->
021
12:38,00 This is the big brown bat.
12
38,00 -->
021
12:40,00 This is the little brown bat.
12
40,00 -->
021
12:41,00 Again, it's amazing how
12
41,00 -->
021
12:42,00 we come up with these names.
12
42,00 -->
021
12:43,00 Very scientific.
12
43,00 -->
021
12:45,00 And this is the red bat.
12
45,00 -->
021
12:45,00 You want to guess why
12
45,00 -->
021
12:47,00 it's a red bat?
12
47,00 -->
021
12:49,00 Because it's red, okay.
12
49,00 -->
021
12:51,00 So we have eight species of bats
12
51,00 -->
021
12:52,00 in Wisconsin.
12
52,00 -->
021
12:54,00 One of them is the federally
12
54,00 -->
021
12:56,00 endangered Indiana bat, which
12
56,00 -->
021
12:58,00 nobody has seen for a long time.
12
58,00 -->
021
13:00,00 It's concentrated primarily
13
00,00 -->
021
13:02,00 to the extreme southern part
13
02,00 -->
021
13:04,00 of the state.
13
04,00 -->
021
13:05,00 Then we have three species
13
05,00 -->
021
13:07,00 that are resident species and
13
07,00 -->
021
13:09,00 five that are migratory.
13
09,00 -->
021
13:11,00 Big brown and little brown
13
11,00 -->
021
13:12,00 are two of the most common
13
12,00 -->
021
13:13,00 resident species,
13
13,00 -->
021
13:14,00 The brown bat is the one
13
14,00 -->
021
13:16,00 that's most commonly found
13
16,00 -->
021
13:18,00 in your attics, especially over
13
18,00 -->
021
13:21,00 winter, but bats do very well
13
21,00 -->
021
13:23,00 in urban suburban settings
13
23,00 -->
021
13:24,00 because we leave lights on
13
24,00 -->
021
13:25,00 at night.
13
25,00 -->
021
13:26,00 Those lights are insect
13
26,00 -->
021
13:27,00 attractors, and these are
13
27,00 -->
021
13:28,00 insectivores.
13
28,00 -->
021
13:30,00 Also, bats like to hole up
13
30,00 -->
021
13:32,00 behind your shutters, or in your
13
32,00 -->
021
13:33,00 attics, or if have
13
33,00 -->
021
13:35,00 cedar shingles on the side
13
35,00 -->
021
13:36,00 of the house, they'll get under
13
36,00 -->
021
13:37,00 the shingles.
13
37,00 -->
021
13:39,00 They do extremely well
13
39,00 -->
021
13:40,00 in and around urban settings.
13
40,00 -->
021
13:41,00 Anybody ever been
13
41,00 -->
021
13:43,00 to Austin, Texas?
13
43,00 -->
021
13:44,00 Have you ever been to the
13
44,00 -->
021
13:46,00 Sixth Street Bridge down there?
13
46,00 -->
021
13:48,00 You can just see hundreds
13
48,00 -->
021
13:49,00 of thousands of bats
13
49,00 -->
021
13:50,00 come out at night
13
50,00 -->
021
13:52,00 from underneath that bridge.
13
52,00 -->
021
13:54,00 And it is a sight to see,
13
54,00 -->
021
13:55,00 and it is a community event.
13
55,00 -->
021
13:56,00 People will come down with their
13
56,00 -->
021
13:58,00 lawn chairs and bottles of wine,
13
58,00 -->
021
14:00,00 and picnic dinners, and actually
14
00,00 -->
021
14:01,00 watch the bats come out
14
01,00 -->
021
14:04,00 from under the bridge.
14
04,00 -->
021
14:06,00 So here's the skunk.
14
06,00 -->
021
14:07,00 We talked about
14
07,00 -->
021
14:08,00 the striped skunk and the issue
14
08,00 -->
021
14:09,00 with the rabies.
14
09,00 -->
021
14:11,00 It is part of the weasel family.
14
11,00 -->
021
14:13,00 As such, as with all weasels,
14
13,00 -->
021
14:15,00 it has scent glands, but it has
14
15,00 -->
021
14:16,00 the most well developed
14
16,00 -->
021
14:17,00 scent glands of any member
14
17,00 -->
021
14:19,00 of the weasel family.
14
19,00 -->
021
14:20,00 And you know why, because
14
20,00 -->
021
14:22,00 it sprays very, very well.
14
22,00 -->
021
14:24,00 Skunks are neat little animals.
14
24,00 -->
021
14:26,00 They are omnivores.
14
26,00 -->
021
14:27,00 They eat a lot
14
27,00 -->
021
14:28,00 of different things.
14
28,00 -->
021
14:30,00 They'll eat plants, animals.
14
30,00 -->
021
14:32,00 In the spring especially, if you
14
32,00 -->
021
14:34,00 find little holes in your yard
14
34,00 -->
021
14:36,00 that are conical in shape, so
14
36,00 -->
021
14:38,00 it narrows as it goes deeper in
14
38,00 -->
021
14:40,00 the soil, that's by a skunk.
14
40,00 -->
021
14:41,00 The skunk takes it's little,
14
41,00 -->
021
14:43,00 tiny conical nose and digs into
14
43,00 -->
021
14:45,00 your yard, looking for grubs
14
45,00 -->
021
14:46,00 and other insects in the soil
14
46,00 -->
021
14:47,00 to eat.
14
47,00 -->
021
14:50,00 That's a very common thing
14
50,00 -->
021
14:53,00 in the spring to look for.
14
53,00 -->
021
14:54,00 Here's a groundhog.
14
54,00 -->
021
14:55,00 We saw a picture of this.
14
55,00 -->
021
14:56,00 When they get scared,
14
56,00 -->
021
14:58,00 they get very flat.
14
58,00 -->
021
15:01,00 ( laughter )
15
01,00 -->
021
15:03,00 They are a hibernatory animal.
15
03,00 -->
021
15:04,00 You don't see them
15
04,00 -->
021
15:05,00 in the winter.
15
05,00 -->
021
15:06,00 They come back up.
15
06,00 -->
021
15:07,00 They're vegetarians.
15
07,00 -->
021
15:09,00 One of the reasons they've done
15
09,00 -->
021
15:10,00 so well in urban suburban
15
10,00 -->
021
15:12,00 settings, is because they
15
12,00 -->
021
15:13,00 obviously dig under the ground.
15
13,00 -->
021
15:15,00 And so in a lot of areas where
15
15,00 -->
021
15:17,00 you have houses, you've got
15
17,00 -->
021
15:18,00 back-fill material, and things,
15
18,00 -->
021
15:21,00 so it's easy to dig through.
15
21,00 -->
021
15:22,00 But also, we have a lot
15
22,00 -->
021
15:23,00 of low lying vegetation.
15
23,00 -->
021
15:25,00 They'll dig their burrow
15
25,00 -->
021
15:26,00 entrance and put it under
15
26,00 -->
021
15:28,00 the low lying vegetation that
15
28,00 -->
021
15:29,00 provides them some cover.
15
29,00 -->
021
15:32,00 They love to eat grass.
15
32,00 -->
021
15:34,00 And so we've got a lot of grass
15
34,00 -->
021
15:36,00 in urban suburban areas
15
36,00 -->
021
15:38,00 that they can eat.
15
38,00 -->
021
15:40,00 What's that?
15
40,00 -->
021
15:42,00 >> Is there a market for fur?
15
42,00 -->
021
15:43,00 >> No, not really.
15
43,00 -->
021
15:44,00 Not too much.
15
44,00 -->
021
15:46,00 You know, it's interesting.
15
46,00 -->
021
15:47,00 If you've ever seen one of these
15
47,00 -->
021
15:49,00 things hit on the road,
15
49,00 -->
021
15:50,00 and if the fur gets scraped off
15
50,00 -->
021
15:51,00 on the road, their skin
15
51,00 -->
021
15:52,00 is almost black, almost like
15
52,00 -->
021
15:55,00 they've been burned to a crisp.
15
55,00 -->
021
15:57,00 I've never skinned one of these
15
57,00 -->
021
15:59,00 animals, but it looks like
15
59,00 -->
021
16:00,00 if you remove the fur, that the
16
00,00 -->
021
16:01,00 skin is black and just--
16
01,00 -->
021
16:04,00 It's a weird looking animal,
16
04,00 -->
021
16:06,00 period, but naked especially.
16
06,00 -->
021
16:07,00 Yes?
16
07,00 -->
021
16:08,00 >> Did you say they were
16
08,00 -->
021
16:10,00 also called ground pigs?
16
10,00 -->
021
16:11,00 >> Well, whistling pigs.
16
11,00 -->
021
16:13,00 They whistle.
16
13,00 -->
021
16:14,00 They'll stick their head up
16
14,00 -->
021
16:16,00 and they'll whistle.
16
16,00 -->
021
16:18,00 They're diurnal animals,
16
18,00 -->
021
16:19,00 so a lot of times if you see
16
19,00 -->
021
16:21,00 them, you'll see them during
16
21,00 -->
021
16:23,00 the day and they'll be out.
16
23,00 -->
021
16:24,00 They don't go much more than
16
24,00 -->
021
16:26,00 about 200 feet away in radius
16
26,00 -->
021
16:28,00 from one of the burrow openings.
16
28,00 -->
021
16:31,00 They can cause some problems
16
31,00 -->
021
16:33,00 from the digging.
16
33,00 -->
021
16:34,00 They'll just chomp your tomato
16
34,00 -->
021
16:36,00 plants right down to the ground.
16
36,00 -->
021
16:39,00 And not even thank you for it.
16
39,00 -->
021
16:41,00 So it's kind of a problem.
16
41,00 -->
021
16:43,00 A raccoon obviously.
16
43,00 -->
021
16:45,00 A real neat animal, very
16
45,00 -->
021
16:47,00 easily distinguished animal.
16
47,00 -->
021
16:48,00 Everybody knows
16
48,00 -->
021
16:50,00 what a raccoon looks like.
16
50,00 -->
021
16:51,00 Songs have been written about it
16
51,00 -->
021
16:52,00 in the past.
16
52,00 -->
021
16:54,00 These animals
16
54,00 -->
021
16:55,00 are very dexterous.
16
55,00 -->
021
16:57,00 They wash their food,
16
57,00 -->
021
16:58,00 a lot of times.
16
58,00 -->
021
16:59,00 They'll take their food and
16
59,00 -->
021
17:01,00 wash it before they eat it,
17
01,00 -->
021
17:02,00 if there's water nearby.
17
02,00 -->
021
17:04,00 If you've gotten newly laid sod,
17
04,00 -->
021
17:06,00 for example, they'll roll the
17
06,00 -->
021
17:07,00 sod up to make it look like
17
07,00 -->
021
17:09,00 it's just off the truck,
17
09,00 -->
021
17:11,00 and you haven't laid it yet.
17
11,00 -->
021
17:12,00 They'll roll it up with
17
12,00 -->
021
17:15,00 those opposable thumbs, as they
17
15,00 -->
021
17:19,00 look for grubs in your yard.
17
19,00 -->
021
17:21,00 And the other thing that I think
17
21,00 -->
021
17:23,00 is really cool about raccoons
17
23,00 -->
021
17:25,00 is that they can climb a tree
17
25,00 -->
021
17:28,00 equally well going down or up
17
28,00 -->
021
17:30,00 head first or tail first,
17
30,00 -->
021
17:31,00 because the rear feet
17
31,00 -->
021
17:33,00 can go almost 180 degrees, like
17
33,00 -->
021
17:36,00 that, and that helps them climb.
17
36,00 -->
021
17:38,00 They are excellent climbers.
17
38,00 -->
021
17:40,00 Yes?
17
40,00 -->
021
17:42,00 >> A little bit about crows,
17
42,00 -->
021
17:44,00 their general habits, their
17
44,00 -->
021
17:46,00 intelligence level, and whether
17
46,00 -->
021
17:48,00 they pose a danger if you have
17
48,00 -->
021
17:51,00 lots of them in your backyard.
17
51,00 -->
021
17:52,00 >> Crows are very, very smart
17
52,00 -->
021
17:54,00 birds.
17
54,00 -->
021
17:55,00 Everything is smart relatively.
17
55,00 -->
021
17:57,00 If you can keep yourself alive
17
57,00 -->
021
17:58,00 as an animal, I think you're
17
58,00 -->
021
17:59,00 pretty darn smart.
17
59,00 -->
021
18:03,00 But crows have been determined
18
03,00 -->
021
18:05,00 to be one of the smarter birds
18
05,00 -->
021
18:06,00 that we have in north America.
18
06,00 -->
021
18:08,00 The issue with crows is
18
08,00 -->
021
18:10,00 typically their habits.
18
10,00 -->
021
18:11,00 They will eat a lot of different
18
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021
18:14,00 things.
18
14,00 -->
021
18:16,00 Well, last year, we have a row
18
16,00 -->
021
18:18,00 of pines in our backyard, and
18
18,00 -->
021
18:20,00 we usually have mourning doves
18
20,00 -->
021
18:21,00 nesting back there.
18
21,00 -->
021
18:22,00 So last year my kids and I were
18
22,00 -->
021
18:23,00 back there looking for
18
23,00 -->
021
18:24,00 a mourning dove.
18
24,00 -->
021
18:25,00 Sure enough, we found a nest.
18
25,00 -->
021
18:26,00 The eggs are not hatched yet,
18
26,00 -->
021
18:28,00 so my daughters checked the nest
18
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021
18:29,00 every day.
18
29,00 -->
021
18:30,00 And they ran in one day and
18
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021
18:31,00 said, you know, the chicks
18
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021
18:33,00 have hatched out.
18
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021
18:34,00 A couple of days later they go
18
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021
18:36,00 back out there just in time
18
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021
18:37,00 to see a crow carrying
18
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021
18:40,00 one of the chicks off.
18
40,00 -->
021
18:42,00 So, they will eat a lot of
18
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021
18:43,00 different things, and they can
18
43,00 -->
021
18:44,00 be predatory, but they are also
18
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021
18:48,00 very opportunist feeders.
18
48,00 -->
021
18:49,00 Yeah?
18
49,00 -->
021
18:50,00 >> Many years ago when I lived
18
50,00 -->
021
18:52,00 in the country I had a pet crow.
18
52,00 -->
021
18:53,00 And he was particularly
18
53,00 -->
021
18:55,00 fond of ice cream.
18
55,00 -->
021
18:56,00 >> Oh, yeah.
18
56,00 -->
021
18:58,00 >> And my red geraniums.
18
58,00 -->
021
18:59,00 He just did wonders
18
59,00 -->
021
19:01,00 for traveling salesmen.
19
01,00 -->
021
19:02,00 >> I'll bet.
19
02,00 -->
021
19:04,00 The biggest problem with crows
19
04,00 -->
021
19:05,00 in urban suburban areas, is
19
05,00 -->
021
19:07,00 that they have communal roosts,
19
07,00 -->
021
19:09,00 as a group of birds.
19
09,00 -->
021
19:10,00 And as they do that,
19
10,00 -->
021
19:12,00 they're extremely loud.
19
12,00 -->
021
19:14,00 And then they're also extremely
19
14,00 -->
021
19:15,00 smelly, because they defecate
19
15,00 -->
021
19:16,00 everywhere, all over things.
19
16,00 -->
021
19:20,00 So it is a major problem if
19
20,00 -->
021
19:22,00 you have a communal crow roost
19
22,00 -->
021
19:26,00 in an urban setting.
19
26,00 -->
021
19:28,00 You can try to scare them
19
28,00 -->
021
19:30,00 or kill them off, but ultimately
19
30,00 -->
021
19:31,00 what happen is a lot of times,
19
31,00 -->
021
19:33,00 you have to cut the roost down
19
33,00 -->
021
19:36,00 to get them to move.
19
36,00 -->
021
19:38,00 >> If my neighbor went on the
19
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021
19:40,00 east side, when the West Nile
19
40,00 -->
021
19:43,00 Virus showed up here, within a
19
43,00 -->
021
19:45,00 year or so we had had a large
19
45,00 -->
021
19:50,00 group of crows in the trees.
19
50,00 -->
021
19:52,00 Within about a year of the
19
52,00 -->
021
19:55,00 West Nile Virus showing up,
19
55,00 -->
021
19:56,00 it's like they disappeared.
19
56,00 -->
021
19:59,00 They were gone.
19
59,00 -->
021
20:00,00 >> I'm not sure how much the
20
00,00 -->
021
20:02,00 West Nile Virus has affected
20
02,00 -->
021
20:03,00 the crow population, but at
20
03,00 -->
021
20:06,00 least to me, it looks like
20
06,00 -->
021
20:08,00 they've come back, because
20
08,00 -->
021
20:09,00 I see crows everywhere.
20
09,00 -->
021
20:11,00 And they are very common
20
11,00 -->
021
20:13,00 and very large in number.
20
13,00 -->
021
20:14,00 And again, that's just a gut
20
14,00 -->
021
20:15,00 instinct.
20
15,00 -->
021
20:16,00 I don't have any data
20
16,00 -->
021
20:17,00 to back that up.
20
17,00 -->
021
20:18,00 But they seem very, very
20
18,00 -->
021
20:22,00 plentiful all over the place.
20
22,00 -->
021
20:23,00 Yes, sir?
20
23,00 -->
021
20:25,00 >> Can you explain the benefit
20
25,00 -->
021
20:26,00 of a bull snake
20
26,00 -->
021
20:30,00 on a farm in Wisconsin?
20
30,00 -->
021
20:33,00 >> Sarcastically?
20
33,00 -->
021
20:34,00 Well, I think any snake
20
34,00 -->
021
20:38,00 in general is beneficial.
20
38,00 -->
021
20:41,00 I know a lot of people
20
41,00 -->
021
20:42,00 don't like snakes, but they
20
42,00 -->
021
20:44,00 are terribly beneficial, simply
20
44,00 -->
021
20:45,00 because there's a lot of animals
20
45,00 -->
021
20:46,00 that eat snakes, so they do
20
46,00 -->
021
20:48,00 provide a food source.
20
48,00 -->
021
20:50,00 But they eat their weight in
20
50,00 -->
021
20:51,00 pest animals, like field mice
20
51,00 -->
021
20:54,00 and moles-- not moles, but
20
54,00 -->
021
20:57,00 voles, mice, and other rodent
20
57,00 -->
021
21:00,00 species, and things like that.
21
00,00 -->
021
21:02,00 They can be extremely beneficial
21
02,00 -->
021
21:04,00 from that standpoint alone.
21
04,00 -->
021
21:06,00 Yeah.
21
06,00 -->
021
21:08,00 Yes, ma'am?
21
08,00 -->
021
21:10,00 >> Foxes?
21
10,00 -->
021
21:12,00 >> Foxes are, again, this
21
12,00 -->
021
21:14,00 winter, my wife looks out and
21
14,00 -->
021
21:15,00 we live in kind of a typical
21
15,00 -->
021
21:17,00 residential neighborhood.
21
17,00 -->
021
21:18,00 My wife looks outside
21
18,00 -->
021
21:20,00 the backyard and there's a fox
21
20,00 -->
021
21:21,00 just kind of sauntering through
21
21,00 -->
021
21:22,00 the backyard in the winter.
21
22,00 -->
021
21:24,00 So they are everywhere,
21
24,00 -->
021
21:26,00 and they're very common.
21
26,00 -->
021
21:28,00 Any mammal, theoretically,
21
28,00 -->
021
21:29,00 can carry rabies, so you should
21
29,00 -->
021
21:31,00 be careful about, you know,
21
31,00 -->
021
21:33,00 getting scratched or bit
21
33,00 -->
021
21:35,00 by any mammal, humans included.
21
35,00 -->
021
21:37,00 Fox are very common.
21
37,00 -->
021
21:39,00 Typically, what happens is that
21
39,00 -->
021
21:41,00 there's a pecking order, so if
21
41,00 -->
021
21:42,00 you have a large wolf population
21
42,00 -->
021
21:44,00 you typically don't have coyotes
21
44,00 -->
021
21:45,00 in the area, because wolves
21
45,00 -->
021
21:46,00 eat coyotes.
21
46,00 -->
021
21:47,00 If you have a large fox
21
47,00 -->
021
21:48,00 population, you typically
21
48,00 -->
021
21:49,00 don't have many coyotes,
21
49,00 -->
021
21:51,00 because coyotes eat fox.
21
51,00 -->
021
21:52,00 We have two different foxes.
21
52,00 -->
021
21:54,00 We have a red fox and gray fox.
21
54,00 -->
021
21:55,00 And you can guess what color
21
55,00 -->
021
21:58,00 each of those is.
21
58,00 -->
021
21:59,00 The red fox is typically
21
59,00 -->
021
22:03,00 much more of an edge species,
22
03,00 -->
021
22:04,00 they exist more in kind of an
22
04,00 -->
021
22:06,00 overgrown, brushy type area.
22
06,00 -->
021
22:07,00 The gray fox is more of
22
07,00 -->
021
22:10,00 a woodland type species.
22
10,00 -->
021
22:12,00 Red fox have done very well.
22
12,00 -->
021
22:14,00 Again, there's so much for them
22
14,00 -->
021
22:15,00 to eat.
22
15,00 -->
021
22:16,00 There's a lot of places
22
16,00 -->
021
22:17,00 they'll hole up, under your deck
22
17,00 -->
021
22:20,00 or alongside your foundation.
22
20,00 -->
021
22:22,00 I've even seen them in window
22
22,00 -->
021
22:23,00 wells, sunk-in window wells
22
23,00 -->
021
22:25,00 of people's houses,
22
25,00 -->
021
22:26,00 and things like that.
22
26,00 -->
021
22:27,00 They do very well in
22
27,00 -->
021
22:28,00 urban suburban settings.
22
28,00 -->
021
22:30,00 They are really neat animals.
22
30,00 -->
021
22:31,00 I don't know who doesn't
22
31,00 -->
021
22:32,00 like a fox,
22
32,00 -->
021
22:34,00 unless you're a rabbit maybe.
22
34,00 -->
021
22:36,00 They are neat.
22
36,00 -->
021
22:37,00 Let me talk about my last
22
37,00 -->
021
22:39,00 specimen here, and then maybe
22
39,00 -->
021
22:40,00 we'll answer questions
22
40,00 -->
021
22:41,00 for a few more minutes,
22
41,00 -->
021
22:42,00 and call it a night
22
42,00 -->
021
22:43,00 if that's okay with everybody.
22
43,00 -->
021
22:44,00 This is a Virginia possum.
22
44,00 -->
021
22:46,00 Again, we talked about the fact
22
46,00 -->
021
22:47,00 that I don't know if you can see
22
47,00 -->
021
22:48,00 on this one, but the ears
22
48,00 -->
021
22:50,00 on this one are black,
22
50,00 -->
021
22:52,00 and not in very good shape.
22
52,00 -->
021
22:53,00 And this naked tail, just being
22
53,00 -->
021
22:55,00 this far north, and having
22
55,00 -->
021
22:57,00 exposed skin is not a very good
22
57,00 -->
021
22:59,00 idea especially in the winter.
22
59,00 -->
021
23:01,00 But the tail obviously, they use
23
01,00 -->
021
23:02,00 it for climbing and wrapping it
23
02,00 -->
021
23:04,00 around.
23
04,00 -->
021
23:05,00 And the very interesting thing
23
05,00 -->
021
23:07,00 about possums is that this is
23
07,00 -->
021
23:09,00 the only representation of a
23
09,00 -->
021
23:12,00 marsupial in north America.
23
12,00 -->
021
23:13,00 Marsupial, obviously means
23
13,00 -->
021
23:14,00 it's related to the kangaroo,
23
14,00 -->
021
23:16,00 wallaby, and things like that,
23
16,00 -->
021
23:18,00 because it has a pouch.
23
18,00 -->
021
23:20,00 That pouch serves the purpose
23
20,00 -->
021
23:21,00 of raising the young,
23
21,00 -->
021
23:23,00 so the young, after the possum
23
23,00 -->
021
23:25,00 gets bred by the male,
23
25,00 -->
021
23:27,00 the little tiny embryos are only
23
27,00 -->
021
23:29,00 in her uterus for less than
23
29,00 -->
021
23:31,00 two weeks, and then they make
23
31,00 -->
021
23:33,00 their way out and crawl up
23
33,00 -->
021
23:35,00 her belly fur, and then spend
23
35,00 -->
021
23:36,00 upwards of two to three months
23
36,00 -->
021
23:39,00 in her pouch, just hanging out
23
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021
23:42,00 and growing and nursing.
23
42,00 -->
021
23:44,00 So she'll hang them in her pouch
23
44,00 -->
021
23:45,00 and as they get older,
23
45,00 -->
021
23:46,00 as she's walking around, you'll
23
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021
23:49,00 see they'll be on her back.
23
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021
23:50,00 Then eventually on their own,
23
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021
23:51,00 and things like that.
23
51,00 -->
021
23:52,00 These are really neat animals.
23
52,00 -->
021
23:54,00 They have 50 teeth, the most
23
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021
23:55,00 teeth of any wild mammal
23
55,00 -->
021
23:58,00 in Wisconsin.
23
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021
24:00,00 That's a trivial pursuit
24
00,00 -->
021
24:02,00 question right there, I gave you
24
02,00 -->
021
24:05,00 to fill in the last triangle.
24
05,00 -->
021
24:06,00 Then, the other thing about
24
06,00 -->
021
24:08,00 these animals is that they
24
08,00 -->
021
24:09,00 play dead, like people say
24
09,00 -->
021
24:11,00 play dead like a possum.
24
11,00 -->
021
24:12,00 And what happens with possums,
24
12,00 -->
021
24:14,00 is that they can be aggressive.
24
14,00 -->
021
24:16,00 They will defend themselves.
24
16,00 -->
021
24:18,00 They do it mostly by hissing
24
18,00 -->
021
24:19,00 at you, or they might charge you
24
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021
24:20,00 a little bit.
24
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021
24:21,00 If that doesn't work, what
24
21,00 -->
021
24:22,00 happens is their blood pressure
24
22,00 -->
021
24:23,00 gets so high, they essentially
24
23,00 -->
021
24:25,00 pass out, and that's why it's
24
25,00 -->
021
24:26,00 called playing dead, is that
24
26,00 -->
021
24:29,00 they scare themselves
24
29,00 -->
021
24:32,00 into an unconsciousness, really.
24
32,00 -->
021
24:33,00 So they're not as brave
24
33,00 -->
021
24:36,00 as they seem.
24
36,00 -->
021
24:38,00 It's a Virginia possum,
24
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021
24:40,00 or opossum, yeah.
24
40,00 -->
021
24:42,00 Has anybody ever had possum
24
42,00 -->
021
24:45,00 to eat?
24
45,00 -->
021
24:47,00 It's not the best thing
24
47,00 -->
021
24:48,00 in the world, I don't think.
24
48,00 -->
021
24:49,00 It's real oily.
24
49,00 -->
021
24:50,00 And I guess there's better
24
50,00 -->
021
24:52,00 ways to prepare it, but I'm not
24
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021
24:53,00 particularly fond of it.
24
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021
24:55,00 I would rather eat Alpo
24
55,00 -->
021
24:57,00 if I had to.
24
57,00 -->
021
24:58,00 Yes?
24
58,00 -->
021
25:00,00 >> Is that the only marsupial
25
00,00 -->
021
25:01,00 in North America?
25
01,00 -->
021
25:02,00 >> Yes.
25
02,00 -->
021
25:03,00 >> Are there marsupials
25
03,00 -->
021
25:05,00 South America?
25
05,00 -->
021
25:06,00 >> The possum is down there
25
06,00 -->
021
25:07,00 as well.
25
07,00 -->
021
25:08,00 I think that's the only
25
08,00 -->
021
25:10,00 representation of a marsupial
25
10,00 -->
021
25:11,00 in South America
25
11,00 -->
021
25:14,00 that I can think of offhand.
25
14,00 -->
021
25:16,00 >> How about Australia?
25
16,00 -->
021
25:17,00 >> Well, I don't know.
25
17,00 -->
021
25:19,00 I don't know, nor do I have the
25
19,00 -->
021
25:20,00 time to trace the evolutionary
25
20,00 -->
021
25:21,00 history of these animals.
25
21,00 -->
021
25:23,00 But as you know, animals have
25
23,00 -->
021
25:25,00 come across oceans
25
25,00 -->
021
25:27,00 onboard ships, or as pets,
25
27,00 -->
021
25:28,00 or something like that.
25
28,00 -->
021
25:30,00 I don't know how far back
25
30,00 -->
021
25:31,00 the evolution history of the
25
31,00 -->
021
25:32,00 animal traces, but at one time,
25
32,00 -->
021
25:34,00 you know before plate tectonics
25
34,00 -->
021
25:36,00 broke the continents apart,
25
36,00 -->
021
25:39,00 we were all one big pangea.
25
39,00 -->
021
25:40,00 I don't know if at that point
25
40,00 -->
021
25:42,00 through the land bridges
25
42,00 -->
021
25:43,00 that they got over here or not,
25
43,00 -->
021
25:45,00 or how that happened.
25
45,00 -->
021
25:46,00 I'm not aware of that.
25
46,00 -->
021
25:48,00 But they are a marsupial.
25
48,00 -->
021
25:52,00 I know that.
25
52,00 -->
021
25:54,00 Yes?
25
54,00 -->
021
25:55,00 >> Are there more species of
25
55,00 -->
021
25:57,00 possum in the Midwest
25
57,00 -->
021
25:58,00 than the Virginia?
25
58,00 -->
021
25:59,00 >> No.
25
59,00 -->
021
26:00,00 >> That's the only one?
26
00,00 -->
021
26:02,00 >> Yep.
26
02,00 -->
021
26:04,00 >> In St. Louis, I thought
26
04,00 -->
021
26:05,00 the possums we saw were like
26
05,00 -->
021
26:08,00 all beige.
26
08,00 -->
021
26:09,00 I don't remember the dark.
26
09,00 -->
021
26:10,00 >> It's not uncommon.
26
10,00 -->
021
26:11,00 When you think about
26
11,00 -->
021
26:12,00 an eastern gray tree squirrel,
26
12,00 -->
021
26:15,00 you can have a white, black,
26
15,00 -->
021
26:17,00 gray, or anything in between.
26
17,00 -->
021
26:20,00 You know, just think about us.
26
20,00 -->
021
26:21,00 All different skin colors
26
21,00 -->
021
26:23,00 we have for humans, but you have
26
23,00 -->
021
26:25,00 different, you know, mutations
26
25,00 -->
021
26:26,00 or different variations
26
26,00 -->
021
26:28,00 of skin color,
26
28,00 -->
021
26:31,00 same with peltage, as well.
26
31,00 -->
021
26:33,00 Tom?
26
33,00 -->
021
26:34,00 >> My question, I grew up
26
34,00 -->
021
26:36,00 in Dixon, Illinois.
26
36,00 -->
021
26:37,00 My dad feeds fox squirrels
26
37,00 -->
021
26:39,00 down there.
26
39,00 -->
021
26:40,00 And up here, we have these
26
40,00 -->
021
26:43,00 little gray weasely things.
26
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021
26:46,00 What is the relative--
26
46,00 -->
021
26:48,00 Are those populations stable?
26
48,00 -->
021
26:50,00 Are they different species?
26
50,00 -->
021
26:51,00 >> They're two different
26
51,00 -->
021
26:53,00 species.
26
53,00 -->
021
26:54,00 I mean, ultimately I guess
26
54,00 -->
021
26:57,00 they probably could breed,
26
57,00 -->
021
27:00,00 but the gray tree squirrel
27
00,00 -->
021
27:02,00 population is, I don't know of
27
02,00 -->
021
27:04,00 anywhere where it's not doing
27
04,00 -->
021
27:05,00 well.
27
05,00 -->
021
27:07,00 And the fox squirrel population
27
07,00 -->
021
27:10,00 is doing quite well, as well.
27
10,00 -->
021
27:12,00 >> Do they compete
27
12,00 -->
021
27:14,00 with each other?
27
14,00 -->
021
27:15,00 >> No, not really.
27
15,00 -->
021
27:17,00 There's enough food out there,
27
17,00 -->
021
27:19,00 and enough, you know, cavities.
27
19,00 -->
021
27:21,00 And they build leaf nests.
27
21,00 -->
021
27:22,00 Squirrels don't always
27
22,00 -->
021
27:23,00 use cavities.
27
23,00 -->
021
27:24,00 They'll build leaf nests,
27
24,00 -->
021
27:25,00 as well, so there's usually
27
25,00 -->
021
27:27,00 enough habitat sharing
27
27,00 -->
021
27:30,00 or niche sharing there.
27
30,00 -->
021
27:31,00 >> Versus--
27
31,00 -->
021
27:34,00 >> No.
27
34,00 -->
021
27:35,00 Flying squirrels
27
35,00 -->
021
27:38,00 are really neat animals.
27
38,00 -->
021
27:39,00 We have two species
27
39,00 -->
021
27:40,00 in Wisconsin, a southern
27
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021
27:41,00 flying squirrel, and it's found
27
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021
27:44,00 in Wisconsin.
27
44,00 -->
021
27:46,00 Or a northern flying squirrel.
27
46,00 -->
021
27:48,00 And the southern flying squirrel
27
48,00 -->
021
27:49,00 is typically smaller than
27
49,00 -->
021
27:51,00 the northern flying squirrel.
27
51,00 -->
021
27:53,00 Both are nocturnal.
27
53,00 -->
021
27:55,00 And my wife insists on
27
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021
27:56,00 dragging me out to
27
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021
27:57,00 the American Players Theater
27
57,00 -->
021
27:58,00 every dang summer.
27
58,00 -->
021
28:01,00 And I'm bored stiff out there,
28
01,00 -->
021
28:04,00 but the saving grace for me
28
04,00 -->
021
28:06,00 is that I can hear the
28
06,00 -->
021
28:08,00 whippoorwills out there calling.
28
08,00 -->
021
28:10,00 And one night I see these
28
10,00 -->
021
28:12,00 flying squirrels scurrying
28
12,00 -->
021
28:13,00 up and down the light masts.
28
13,00 -->
021
28:15,00 I spent the whole Shakespeare
28
15,00 -->
021
28:17,00 play, all eight hours of it,
28
17,00 -->
021
28:19,00 ( light laughter )
28
19,00 -->
021
28:20,00 watching these flying squirrels
28
20,00 -->
021
28:22,00 going up and down the light
28
22,00 -->
021
28:23,00 masts and gliding off, and
28
23,00 -->
021
28:24,00 things like that, so
28
24,00 -->
021
28:26,00 flying squirrel is a misnomer.
28
26,00 -->
021
28:27,00 They're not truly flying
28
27,00 -->
021
28:28,00 mammals.
28
28,00 -->
021
28:29,00 The only true flying mammal
28
29,00 -->
021
28:31,00 is the bats.
28
31,00 -->
021
28:32,00 They have these skin
28
32,00 -->
021
28:33,00 attachments and they glide.
28
33,00 -->
021
28:35,00 They do a great job gliding.
28
35,00 -->
021
28:37,00 They have these rather wide
28
37,00 -->
021
28:39,00 flat tails.
28
39,00 -->
021
28:41,00 That tail is used, almost as
28
41,00 -->
021
28:42,00 a rudder to help them steer
28
42,00 -->
021
28:44,00 as they glide through the air.
28
44,00 -->
021
28:46,00 They are really neat animals.
28
46,00 -->
021
28:48,00 They're actually a lot more
28
48,00 -->
021
28:49,00 common than people think.
28
49,00 -->
021
28:51,00 You don't see them, because
28
51,00 -->
021
28:52,00 they're more nocturnally
28
52,00 -->
021
28:56,00 oriented than daytime oriented.
28
56,00 -->
021
28:57,00 >> In Madison, 50 or so years
28
57,00 -->
021
28:58,00 ago, we had some friends who
28
58,00 -->
021
29:00,00 lived out where Allen Boulevard
29
00,00 -->
021
29:03,00 is now.
29
03,00 -->
021
29:04,00 And there was nothing else
29
04,00 -->
021
29:06,00 except woods around there.
29
06,00 -->
021
29:08,00 The woman had kind of trained
29
08,00 -->
021
29:09,00 these flying squirrels
29
09,00 -->
021
29:10,00 to come in at night.
29
10,00 -->
021
29:11,00 She would feed them,
29
11,00 -->
021
29:13,00 or in the evening.
29
13,00 -->
021
29:14,00 So we would go out there
29
14,00 -->
021
29:15,00 and she would come out and they
29
15,00 -->
021
29:17,00 would come swooping down
29
17,00 -->
021
29:19,00 from the trees.
29
19,00 -->
021
29:20,00 So I guess they're around.
29
20,00 -->
021
29:21,00 That's the only time I've ever
29
21,00 -->
021
29:23,00 seen them.
29
23,00 -->
021
29:24,00 >> They're very common.
29
24,00 -->
021
29:25,00 If you go out at night,
29
25,00 -->
021
29:27,00 you know, and just pay attention
29
27,00 -->
021
29:28,00 a little bit, it might take
29
28,00 -->
021
29:30,00 a little bit of looking,
29
30,00 -->
021
29:31,00 but they're very common
29
31,00 -->
021
29:33,00 and they're around here,
29
33,00 -->
021
29:35,00 in pretty decent numbers.
29
35,00 -->
021
29:37,00 They're neat animals.
29
37,00 -->
021
29:40,00 They're real neat animals.
29
40,00 -->
021
29:42,00 >> One question, on one of your
29
42,00 -->
021
29:45,00 slides, you showed, I'm guessing
29
45,00 -->
021
29:47,00 they were bachelor buttons,
29
47,00 -->
021
29:48,00 or something?
29
48,00 -->
021
29:50,00 It was a blue flower.
29
50,00 -->
021
29:51,00 >> Oh, yep.
29
51,00 -->
021
29:53,00 >> Are they an animal repellent?
29
53,00 -->
021
29:54,00 >> No.
29
54,00 -->
021
29:56,00 What the heck was that?
29
56,00 -->
021
29:57,00 It wasn't
29
57,00 -->
021
30:00,00 a bachelor button.
30
00,00 -->
021
30:01,00 Did I have it
30
01,00 -->
021
30:04,00 in the non-lethal part?
30
04,00 -->
021
30:06,00 Okay.
30
06,00 -->
021
30:08,00 Are you sure it wasn't an aster?
30
08,00 -->
021
30:10,00 Did it look like an aster?
30
10,00 -->
021
30:13,00 I think it was an aster.
30
13,00 -->
021
30:16,00 The point was that with deer
30
16,00 -->
021
30:17,00 in particular is that there are
30
17,00 -->
021
30:19,00 lists out there of what's called
30
19,00 -->
021
30:21,00 deer resistant plant species.
30
21,00 -->
021
30:23,00 That was an example of one
30
23,00 -->
021
30:24,00 of them.
30
24,00 -->
021
30:25,00 The list typically, regardless
30
25,00 -->
021
30:27,00 of what state the list
30
27,00 -->
021
30:29,00 is generated from, they're all
30
29,00 -->
021
30:31,00 roughly the same of a group
30
31,00 -->
021
30:33,00 of plants, that deer seldom
30
33,00 -->
021
30:35,00 ever rarely eat these plants.
30
35,00 -->
021
30:36,00 And then at the other end
30
36,00 -->
021
30:37,00 of the spectrum, deer almost
30
37,00 -->
021
30:39,00 always eat these plants.
30
39,00 -->
021
30:41,00 Well, the point is that
30
41,00 -->
021
30:42,00 I can take you and show you
30
42,00 -->
021
30:43,00 places where they say deer
30
43,00 -->
021
30:44,00 seldom ever eat these plants,
30
44,00 -->
021
30:46,00 and they consistently clobber
30
46,00 -->
021
30:48,00 them, and other areas, where the
30
48,00 -->
021
30:49,00 deer always eat these plants,
30
49,00 -->
021
30:50,00 and they haven't touched them
30
50,00 -->
021
30:51,00 for years.
30
51,00 -->
021
30:53,00 That slide usually in other
30
53,00 -->
021
30:55,00 talks, is just a point of
30
55,00 -->
021
30:57,00 there are these lists out there.
30
57,00 -->
021
30:59,00 Don't put too much stock in them
30
59,00 -->
021
31:00,00 but as you're making planting
31
00,00 -->
021
31:02,00 choices and decisions, perhaps
31
02,00 -->
021
31:03,00 take one of those type lists
31
03,00 -->
021
31:04,00 to either a plant center
31
04,00 -->
021
31:06,00 and any kind of consultation
31
06,00 -->
021
31:08,00 with a garden center,
31
08,00 -->
021
31:09,00 make some choices.
31
09,00 -->
021
31:10,00 But the more important thing
31
10,00 -->
021
31:12,00 to do, I think, is to use that
31
12,00 -->
021
31:14,00 list as a bit of a reference,
31
14,00 -->
021
31:16,00 but more importantly,
31
16,00 -->
021
31:18,00 drive around your immediate area
31
18,00 -->
021
31:19,00 and see what's holding up well
31
19,00 -->
021
31:21,00 that year in your neighborhood,
31
21,00 -->
021
31:23,00 and plant that.
31
23,00 -->
021
31:24,00 But don't be surprised if
31
24,00 -->
021
31:25,00 what held up last year
31
25,00 -->
021
31:27,00 doesn't hold up well this year,
31
27,00 -->
021
31:28,00 because deer either may not have
31
28,00 -->
021
31:29,00 found it yet.
31
29,00 -->
021
31:30,00 They eat a little bit here
31
30,00 -->
021
31:32,00 and there, and they may not
31
32,00 -->
021
31:33,00 have found it yet.
31
33,00 -->
021
31:34,00 Or last year, maybe the growing
31
34,00 -->
021
31:35,00 conditions were such that
31
35,00 -->
021
31:36,00 there was enough wild food
31
36,00 -->
021
31:38,00 out there that they didn't
31
38,00 -->
021
31:39,00 have to eat your plants,
31
39,00 -->
021
31:40,00 or whatever the case is.
31
40,00 -->
021
31:42,00 But that was just an example
31
42,00 -->
021
31:43,00 of deer resistant, supposedly
31
43,00 -->
021
31:47,00 deer resistant plants.
31
47,00 -->
021
31:48,00 Thank you.
31
48,00 -->
021
31:52,00 ( applause )
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