Living with Wildlife

---

---

Wild animals are amazingly adaptable when given the opportunity. Many smaller forms of wildlife have long ago adapted to humanity, learning to live in our mist. For instance, robins, house sparrows, starlings and doves are all common fixtures in many urban yards. We even encourage such use, planting wildlife friendly plants, adding bird feeders, houses and baths and determinginhoping our yards can mitigate for some habitat losses elsewhere.

There are also less commonly seen animals, perhaps nocturnal or just shy, that also live among humans, often for decades without conflict. Studies in Chicago have found that coyotes now inhabit many urban areas but are rarely seen by the citizens. Since rodents are the most common item on the coyote menu, their role in controlling urban rats is likely significant.

But what happens when an animal decides that your home makes an equally good home for its family? Skunks, raccoons, garter snakes, bats and woodpeckers, all wonderful species in their own right, don’t make great housemates.

 Or, what if the new neighbor is a mountain lion, black bear, grizzly or moose? These animals are potentially dangerous to humans and humans need to be aware of the dangers and how to minimize them.

It is interesting to note that not every landowner sees the same wildlife use of their property in the same light.  What may be, "those darling deer" to one landowner may be "four-legged mowing machines" to their neighbor. And often, it is a matter of scale. One or two deer in the back forty might be great, a herd of thirty might create unacceptable damage to crops or ornamentals.

 I spent several years of my career tasked with resolving wildlife/human conflicts and bring real world experience to this subject. This section of the website is dedicated to providing homeowners and landowners with recommendations for reducing conflict, damage and danger as well as how to encourage wildlife use when appropriate.

There are many animals that can potentially interact with humans so this site will be divided into the following categories:  Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians and Invertebrates.  I will write about these in no particular order, so if you have a question about a particular animal, use the Contact Us! button to request a profile on the critter you are dealing with.

---

MAMMALS

Living_with_Coyotes

Living With Elk, Deer and Moose

Living With Skunks

Living With Beaver

---

BIRDS

Living With Woodpeckers

---

INSECTS

Living with Yellow Jackets