Showing posts with label city animals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label city animals. Show all posts

Sunday, May 23, 2010

City Animals

City animals are mice, rats, birds and domesticated pets for the most part. Beavers, elk and black bears are not likely to be the next door neighbours of Chip and Dale unless the boys are on vacation. City animals are tough, well-connected to humanity and well-trained for battle. Players recruit animals to build an empire, promote leaders, seek allies, buy equipment, seize locations, and gain the favour of humanity. City animals are fantastic teachers because they’re experts at surviving in the wild — even when the wild is an urban environment. When I gathered acorns with friends in the wilderness skills school Trackers , I was surprised by how tedious it can be to crack the shells and get to the eating.

City animals are different in the fact that if they do go out they'll travel around a bit but will always come home in the end. So in today's society a dog doesn't have to hunt for its food or worry about the next level of the food chain. City animals are much cagier and more street smart. Recently in a heavy rain I slowly drove along for four block watching a drenched possum run from one storm drain to the next, poking his head in, seeing the running water, and moving unerringly to the next drain looking for a dry place. City animals are tough and maintain close ties with humanity. Suburb animals are not the largest but they are cunning.

City animals are regularly known to have a wide assortment of fur colors. City animals are scavengers. Every day on my way to work there is a single house with large crowds of birds (crows, pigeons), squirrels and the occasional abandoned pet. City animals are evil. It is way too violent for kids.

Are Squirrles Pests

Squirrels can leave behind a lot of droppings and urine in the attic . The droppings not only smell bad, but they pose a biohazardous risk, and the smell attracts new squirrels. Squirrels can be trapped in small-size steel cages, and then safely relocated. It's important to use a small trap, because a large trap will allow the squirrel to run around and bang against the walls of the trap and become injured. Squirrels can also become nuisances at bird feeders, where they consume large quantities of birdseed or gnaw on the feeders. And spring bulbs—especially tulips and crocuses—may be dug up and consumed by squirrels, or clipped and eaten just as they start to flower.

Squirrels can be cute and fun to watch until they dominate or even destroy one of your bird feeders! Don't despair and don't lose sleep over these tree rats! Squirrels can be prevented from traveling on wires by installing two-foot section of lightweight, 2- to 3-inch-diameter plastic pipe. Slit the plastic pipe lengthwise and place it over the wire. Squirrels can cause extensive damage to attic insulation or walls and gnaw on electrical wires in homes and vehicles, creating a fire hazard.

Squirrels can often become prey to different dogs that have the speed and agility to catch them. Its light red or pink flesh has only a slight game taste. Squirrels can get into your home in a variety of ways. Remember, they are very motivated to get into a warm, dry place like a home. Squirrels can generally live anywhere from ten to twelve years but after about six years, they are considered old squirrels. Some of the most common ways that squirrels die is being attacked by their natural predators or they can also die from traffic.

Squirrels can leave behind a lot of droppings and urine in the attic. The droppings not only smell bad, but they pose a bio-hazardous risk, and the smell attracts new squirrels. Squirrels can?t digest cellulose, so they can?t graze like rabbits or deer. Early spring is the hardest time of year because stored nuts have been eaten, rotted or sprouting, but new sources are not yet available. Squirrels can cause significant damage both indoors and out. In gardens they take fruit & bulbs, raid the nests of small birds, bird tables and nut feeders and dig holes in the lawn to bury their food.

Squirrels can cause a fire hazard in homes by bringing in nesting material and by chewing on power lines. Squirrels can leave behind a lot of droppings and urine in the attic. Squirrels can be trapped in small-size steel cages, and then safely relocated. It's important to use a small trap, because a large trap will allow the squirrel to run around and bang against the walls of the trap and become injured. Squirrels can also become nuisances at bird feeders, where they consume large quantities of birdseed or gnaw on the feeders. And spring bulbs—especially tulips and crocuses—may be dug up and consumed by squirrels, or clipped and eaten just as they start to flower.

The Urban Struggle For Survival of The Skunk

Skunks can travel several miles a day, and unless found, a lost pet skunk is in trouble. Unlike cats and dogs, domesticated skunks lack homing instincts to find their way back. Skunks can carry rabies. Any skunk large enough to require two hands to pick up is old enough to be on its own. Skunks can only catch rabies by being bitten by another rabid animal or by eating the carrion of a rabid animal before it starts decomposing. The disease's latency period is only about 5 days longer than a dog or human, and only rarely 'months' longer.

Skunks cannot climb so they always make their homes at floor level or below. Skunks can spray their scented yellowish musky fluid up to 10 feet very accurately. But skunks can also create similar strong odors even without spraying. Skunks can have a variety of dispositions. Some are solitary like their cousin the wild skunk, some are sociable to other skunks and other domestic pets in the household.

Skunks can also cause severe damage to gardens and lawns by their digging activities. While searching for grubs and other subsoil insects, skunks frequently uproot turf and other plants. Skunks can cause an odor problem, not to mention the damage and mess of digging. The solution is to exclude them, thus preventing access in the first place. Skunks can spray foul-smelling liquid at predators, and the smell is very hard to get off. Skunks do not hibernate in the winter, but they barely eat anything and don't move very much.

Skunks can carry rabies, but so can raccoons, oppossums, bats, dogs, cats, etc. No, they're not born with it. Skunks can only run at a rate of about ten miles an hour, which explains why so many are killed by cars. Drivers expect them to move away, just as other wild animals do�but instead a skunk will stand still, getting ready to spray. Skunks can spray their musk up to 15 ft. For instructions on getting rid of the smell, read How to get rid of skunk smell.

Our Furry Little Friends

Raccoons can become a nuisence around houses and outbuildings if they gain entrance to attics or chimneys, or raid garbage cans in search of food. Pet food may be removed from porches if pets are fed outdoors. Raccoons can be captured using a baited live trap and transported to wooded areas away from residential neighborhoods. This is a safe and humane method of removing raccoons from your yard. Raccoons can easily enter a house through a dog or cat door and may be unable to find their way out. Lock dog and cat doors at night and place ammonia stations in front of the locked door.

Raccoons can cause substantial damage. In urban areas, raccoons damage buildings (particularly attics and roofs), gardens, fruit trees, lawns, garbage cans and trash containers. Raccoons can make good pets as well as bad pets, it depends upon what the owner makes them. Each individual has to decide if they are good for them. Raccoons can be litter boxed trained. Though once they are trained they will still express anger or displeasure by eliminating on something of yours.

Raccoons can be quite destructive around man-made ponds, especially if they spot colorful fish in the water. This behavior often labels the raccoon as a koi pond predator . Raccoons can also be a menace to farmers because they may eat domestic fowl and eggs. Raccoons cannot be relocated. A territory left open by removing one animal will be quickly filled by another.

Raccoons can cause serious damage to your home. Females may rip off fascia boards or shingles to gain access to your attic when they are trying to find a suitable nesting site. Raccoons can have rabies, roundworms, and canine distemper. These diseases can be very dangerous to you and your pets. Raccoons can live 10-15 years in the wild.

Understanding Raccoons

Raccoons are the largest of these animals, so the sound is often ?heavy? Additionally, raccoons are primarily nocturnal, so the noises occur at night. Raccoons are nocturnal and usually spend daylight hours at rest. Raccoons are active mostly during the evening hours. On most days, they leave their den soon after dusk and are active until morning.

Raccoons are nocturnal and eat a large variety of things, including berries, insects, eggs and other small animals. Raccoons are known to "wash" their food before eating it (the term for the animal in French is raton laveur , or "washing rat"; the German word is Waschb?', or "washing bear"). Raccoons are usually active at night, and by day they retire to dens or resting sites. Dens are made above ground in tree cavities, chimneys and attics, as well as underground in old woodchuck burrows, storm sewers or crawl spaces under buildings. Raccoons are nocturnal which means that they are most active all night long, from about an hour before sunset to an hour after sunrise. The boars tend to move farther than the sows at night.

Raccoons are considered high to moderate risk vectors of rabies. There is currently an outbreak of raccoon rabies in the northeast United States. Raccoons are capable of traveling great distances to find food and territory. If you stop feeding, raccoon populations will slowly adjust to the level that can be accommodated by the available natural habitat. Raccoons are protected by law. No one may possess a raccoon without a license, and licenses are not issued for pet wildlife.

Raccoons are curious omnivores that enjoy the security of trees. Living with their parents, offspring, or bachelor groups, these mammals are nocturnal and have heightened senses. Raccoons are omnivorous and will consume practically any food item, plant or animal. They prefer corn, crayfish, fruits, and nuts, but there is a seasonal shift in diet depending on availability of food items. Raccoons are often a nuisance to farmers. They cause damage to orchards, vineyards, melon patches, cornfields, peanut fields, and chicken yards.

What About Skunks-Things About Skunks

Skunks are very curious by nature: they go exploring. Baby skunks can get lost and hurt very easily. Skunks are not aggressive, but they can cause damage to lawns and gardens as they dig around hunting for grubs. Skunks leave a distinct cone shaped hole when they dig for insects. Skunks are a significant carrier of rabies in the United States. This status, as well as their propensity to use urbanized areas, makes them a serious potential source of human exposure to rabies.

Skunks are a mild-mannered, slow-moving, mind-your-own-business kind of animal. If provoked, they may spray people or pets. Skunks are mild-tempered animals that will not defend themselves unless they are cornered or harmed. Skunks have the ability to dis charge nauseating musk from the anal glands and are capable of several dis charges, not just one. Skunks are relatively inactive during the winter months. Young are born in the spring to coincide with nice weather and abundance of food, and are blind and deaf at birth.

Skunks are rare in our area, although we have two types occasionally found in Volusia county. The most prevalent is actually the spotted skunk, seen at the left. Skunks are probably best known for their ability to spray foul-smelling fluid as a defense against predators. Most wild skunks spray only when injured or attacked, as a defense mechanism. Skunks are native to the Americas and and are noted in historical accounts of Christopher Columbus . Skunks were reportedly kept as pets by some Native American nations.

Skunks are not entirely a problem, and there actually are benefits to having them around, and there have been uses for their fur and musk. While we dislike the damage they will cause to lawns we do need to recognize the value of their diet on insects. Skunks are primarily nocturnal mammals, preferring to hunt at night for grubs, insects, small rodents, carrion, fruit, berries, unripened corn, mushrooms and other food items. In urban areas, they feed on pet food, garbage, fruit that has fallen from trees, and garden vegetables. Skunks are very sensitive to light. The mother will move her babies to another nest site and you can then safely close the hole.

Skunks are excellent diggers and may try to gain entry by digging under fences. Skunks are easy to catch and can be transported without releasing their scent if done carefully. If you did not cover the trap with canvas, tarp, or thick burlap when it was set, slowly approach the animal, and gently cover the trap with the material. Skunks are slow-moving mammals and members of the weasel family, commonly identified by their jet-black fur with one or more white stripes running down their backs. One skunk species looks as though it is wearing a hood, with neck hair spread out into a ruff.