The Unseen Abuse of The WildBy Chase Dooley
News & Online Editor October 19, 2015 As millions aw in unison at the adorable pictures of a beautiful raccoon that believes it’s a dog, they ignore that unseen tragedy of this supposed-to-be wild animal that has been domesticated.
The majority does not see the problem with domesticating wild animals, such as raccoons and squirrels. What they see is a rugged animal impressioned to be loving and adorable, such as cat or a dog. They fail to see that while you can take the animal out of the wild, you cannot take the wild out of the animal. A raccoon will always have the natural instincts to forge and scavage. A mountain lion cub, though adorable and irresistible to want, will grow into the ferocious predator nature destined it to be. My aunt lives in Colorado and works as a licensed wildlife rehabber. She deals with hundreds of animals a year, mostly baby raccoons and squirrels whose mothers were killed by a car or by a hunter. These young animals are impressionable, like a baby, so my aunt does her best to teach them how to scavenge and forge, to live its life. I know the irresistible desire to become the parent of an adorable wild creature well. Recently, I found myself tending a baby squirrel that had fell from a tree into my backyard. Knowing my lack of skills, I contacted my aunt to aid me in caring for the animal until its mother returns for it or a local rehabber comes for it. She was able to identify that the baby was about five to six weeks of age using a blurry photo of the squirrels tail. She was also able to identify that the squirrel was dehydrated. To me, I could see that the squirrel was perhaps dehydrated, but it was not my first indication. In addition, I had no idea how old it was and no idea on how to provide for it over the night. My aunt simply instructed me to put the baby squirrel in a shoebox with holes in the lid, a towel or T-shirt as bedding, and leave it alone. She recommended I offer it little slices of apple, which I did. Then she explained to me that the next day, before I go to school, leave the squirrel outside in a safe area so that the mother could have a chance to rescue her baby. So I did. I realize that my role in this situation is not to take the role as the parent, but to take the role as an overseer: keep the animal safe until someone professional can handle the animal. When we move the wild animal from the wild, such as when the owners of the pet raccoon found the “abandoned” baby in their backyard, we impress the animal to see humans as a good thing. Instead of seeing us as a danger, they see us as a benefit. They see us as a food source. If the animal were to be released, or were to escape, the animal would probably seek refuge close to humans because the animal has been impressed that humans equals a food source. This interaction can be dangerous to both, the animal and the human. The animal would be identified as a “nuisance,” and the Department of Wildlife (DOW) will come to catch the animal. Unfortunately, their policy with animals that have been impressed is to euthanize them. Why? Because the animal has been conditioned to see humans as a benefit, and these interaction cannot simply be removed. Wildlife rehabbers are called by DOW or by residents to handle wild animals that have been injured or babies that have been abandoned. Their job is to not befriend the animal, or to make it a pet, but to rehabilitate the creature so that it may be released back into the wild healthy and capable of making a living. Yet when humans interfere with the balance between themselves and nature, they fail to recognize the abuse and curse they call upon the cuddly animal: they fail to recognize that if it is captured, it would be euthanized; they fail to recognize that if it escapes, the animal would harass humans, posing dangers to it and people; they fail to recognize that wild animals are not pets, and belong only in the wild. Wild animals are wild because they live in nature, away from our dangerous habits. If we upset this balance, we only impose a sad death to the animal. |
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