Reprinted from an August 24, 2008 column in the Morgantown Dominion Post
It always amazes me when people report seeing wild animals that just cannot be there. Take the citizens in Upper Freehold Township in New Jersey. They reported seeing African wild dogs. Yes, African wild dogs in the wild. In fact, one e-mail said that they knew this animal was endangered so someone should come and capture them and put them in a zoo. One can only conjecture that there were a few dogs running together and those watching the Discovery Channel had seen African wild dogs, and voila, instant rumor.
But there is more to that story. It all started when some citizens started an e-mail rumor that the township leaders brought in coyotes to curb the deer herd. Now such coyote rumors are nothing new and we’ve discussed how dumb such rumors make hunters look (since most of the time it is hunters who start such rumors, though not in this case).
Just this past March the Pennsylvania Game Commission again had to address the rumor that they had released coyotes to kill more deer. Hmmm. Just think on that for a moment. First, note that coyotes have been in Pennsylvania since the 1940's. Why introduce them now? Second, the Game Commission has no reason to introduce coyotes. No Game Commission does. State wildlife agencies want hunters to be able to harvest deer, because that is where they get a ton of the revenues needed to stay in business. Understand then that the Upper Freehold Township officials did not bring in coyotes to solve their urban deer problem. Nor did the Pennsylvania Game Commission, or any other state game agency. But also note that, for whatever reason, a few silly hunters in many states will continue to spread the rumor that their state wildlife agency has released coyotes.
But crazy predator stories are not limited to hunters so let’s get back to that New Jersey township. One person "saw" a pack of African wild dogs, and another saw one in her back yard. One e-mail stated that farmers called animal damage control people because they saw some strange looking wild dogs (assumed by many to be African wild dogs). Apparently some people are letting their imagination "create" something that just cannot exist. You "believe" then you "see." I guess that is the way it goes.
In July a County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado joined the State Patrol and Division of Wildlife in search of a reported African lion. Apparently three people saw the "lion", and one even said it had a red mane and a big tail. A check of all zoos holding African lions in that region showed that none had escaped. After 9 hours the search was halted, and no one ever saw that African lion again. My guess? Either a mountain lion, a big dog, or Sasquatch.
Yes, some wild predator stories are a bit strange, but true. This summer a 77-year-old grandmother was working in her petunias in Pennsylvania when a rabid fox attacked her. It clamped on her arm, and then Mrs. Blakeslee pinned it to the ground and hollered for help. Her son came out and shot the animal, and this feisty grandmother spent four days in the hospital. Good gardener. Tough grandmother. Dead fox.
When a dairy farmer in Indiana recently spotted a mountain lion, the rumors started. You guessed it. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources had reintroduced the lions to slow the growth of the deer herd. What a good idea. The game agency spokesman went through their normal process when they reintroduce wild animals, such as river otters, or peregrine falcons. He noted that they ask for public involvement at meetings to discuss any reintroduction project. But we know they didn’t do that in this case. That sneaky game agency by passed this normal process to get the mountain lions into Indiana.
I’m not saying there aren’t mountain lions in Indiana. In fact, there are confirmed sightings. They just weren’t brought in my the state wildlife agency. Now about that giraffe I spotted in Preston County from my tree stand last fall. I’ll just let that go for another column.
