In past columns I've mentioned the exciting wildlife in our state such as cougars and bears. But what about the ordinary animals and birds we see almost daily, or did?
We decide which animals, birds or reptiles live in our state, and which are nuisances or dangerous. I guess our grandfathers, who exterminated nearly all the wolves, cougars and bears would say good riddance. But is it really a good thing to kill off a species?
We have caused huge numbers of animals and birds to become extinct, and took millions of buffalo down to 26 before stopping the slaughter. Can you imagine, when the transcontinental railroad was completed, passengers could ride along and shoot buffalo from the train? Just for the sport of killing some large animal? The passenger pigeon wasn't as lucky, and an estimated billion of them were killed down to the last bird, which died in a zoo.
We have matured in our management of wildlife, but we're not there yet. I had noticed a number of black snakes and king snakes on our property, and told C.D., a man doing yard work and other odd jobs for me, "let's don't just kill every snake you see. A lot of those snakes are eating mice and other pests."
C. D. just shook his head and said, "Mr. Mason, I don't trust none of 'em." C. D. has retired now, and I have adopted a "don't kill anything you're not going to eat" attitude on my property. That includes copperheads. I know a copperhead can kill you. But I'll take the slight risk in order to keep the ecosystem intact around my house.
I live on 37 acres with two small ponds and only my house on the front of the property. I think animals have developed a sense of safety on this land. A doe had twins in our courtyard not 10 yards from my front door, and last night I drove down my driveway and spooked a herd of seven to 10 deer. When the raccoons and possums hear my sliding glass door open from the kitchen after dinner, they are almost standing in line to nibble the scraps.
We've picked up a family of red-tail hawks over the past couple of years, which I'm sure the squirrels don't like, but they are holding down the squirrel and rat population really well. Canada geese are starting to show up around my small pond, and a tree on a small island in my lower pond has become an egret roost.
But some parts of my Arkansas ecosystem are missing. Until about 10 years ago I had a nice covey of quail, but slowly, without a quail being shot, they have disappeared. The yard's two ponds, open areas around the treeline, and the abundance of grasses with seed are excellent quail habitat. Yet I know from talking to hunters and others who spend time in the fields and woods of our state that the sighting of a cougar happens more frequently than kicking up a covey of quail.
The legendary American Indian chief Seattle once said, "Man does not weave this web of life. He is merely a strand of it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself." You might shake your head when you look at my backyard where the armadillos have rooted up the grass, but they have also cleaned out the fire ants, so I'll take the bad with the good.
Every time I mention Arkansas needs to have a viable ecosystem, someone will always say we need to shoot every coyote we see. "They get the young deer." Anyone who thinks the zillions of deer we have in this state are in any danger of being reduced by coyotes should just take a look at my backyard around dusk.
Studies have shown coyotes basically have a diet of small animals. When the numbers of deer in the state are considered, coyotes are an insignificant factor. If coyotes were allowed to multiply, they would help control the spread of possums, raccoons, and other small animals.
Then maybe we could see our quail make a comeback. I know the old loss-of-habitat story and it sounds good, but it doesn't hold water. What happened to my covey of quail? And what happened to thousands of other coveys that have disappeared? We still have millions of acres of prime habitat without one quail. Why? It's sure not from over-hunting.
I think we should see what is different in the ecosystem when compared to the quail we had in the 1950s and '60s. First, the net additions: Feral hogs, armadillos, raccoons, possums, fire ants, and skunks. Why did they multiply? The answer is simple: We killed off all the predators that kept the ecosystem in balance, and the vacuum was filled with the animals listed above. Those animals are scavengers that will eat just about anything. That means small quail chicks and eggs are gobbled up, eliminating our quail.
We need to add predators of ground-feeding scavengers to our wildlife mix and stop eliminating animals that feed on these scavengers. That means stop shooting the coyotes, bobcats, hawks, and owls. Do away with bear season and set a moratorium on cougars and wolves. Then maybe we will see the web of nature repaired and our quail will return.
I'll leave you with another environmental quote from Chief Seattle: "To harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator."
Richard Mason is a registered professional geologist, downtown developer, former chairman of the Department of Environmental Quality Board of Commissioners, past president of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, and syndicated columnist. Email [email protected].
Editorial on 04/01/2018