Can Wild Animals and Humans Live in Harmony?
There is a lot of controversy that stirs up when animals attempt to reclaim territory that humans have overtaken. All kinds of plans come up for ridding the area of the wild animals who once roamed freely where houses and buildings now occupy. We imagine the animals form a few committees of their own and discuss how to rid the area of human interlopers.
Having "wild" animals live nearby would seem to be something urban dwellers seldom experience. But in the Twin Cities, where we live, is populated by an abundance of rabbits, ducks, geese, deer, squirrels, and birds of all types. It's as if there is a silent agreement between human city folk and the animals to live together in harmony.
Well, somewhat in harmony. City officials spend taxpayers' money figuring out how to get rid of goose poop. Safety officials post signs to warn that deer cross these roads and could cause accidents if cars hit them.
Now that spring is on the horizon, nature's critters are having even more critters. Recently we watched a busy urban highway that had traffic at a standstill. A mother duck and her eight baby ducklings waddled across the street behind her.
It was refreshing to notice that no horns blew, and there were no apparent looks of annoyance from drivers. In fact, mothers pointed to the sight so their children could take a closer look. The traffic delay was treated like a stop at any red light. After the mother and her babies made it across the highway, travel resumed as usual.
A moment in time when humans stopped to give respect to the journey of animals in our midst.
Have you witnessed humans and animals in nature living together harmoniously?
Living in a rural area, I see this all the time. There are many farmers who leave a little corn in the fields so the deer will have some food for the winter. It's not uncommon for the cattle farmers here to leave food or nesting materials for the Canadian Geese who love nesting around the cow ponds. And you would be hard-pressed to find a home that doesn't have bird and squirrel feeders.
For me, the beauty of new-fallen snow doesn't lie in the landscape but in the deer, bird, and rabbit tracks that cover my yard. Last Spring and Summer my family had the pleasure of watching a flock of wild turkeys raise their babies. And every winter my sister, who lives next door, has a skunk who sleeps happy and warm on her porch at night. We have a pack of coyotes that roam the woods surrounding our house. They never bother anything, so why should we bother them?
Maybe in the big cities people think differently about wild animals. Here in the country they are our neighbors, and are always treated neighborly unless they give us good reason not to. We understand that this was their land first. We are just allowed to share it.
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