Wildlife… what they need to eat
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Diane Lynch
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Baby skunks play like kittens! Photo: WildCare
Different animals need different foods: carnivores eat mostly meat, herbivores eat plants, and omnivores consume both.
Our local backyard wildlife species, such as skunks, opossums, and raccoons, are excellent rodent hunters. They spend their active hours clearing your neighborhoods of rats, mice, slugs, snails, insects, and other potentially undesirable pests. Many insects are beneficial, but our local wildlife are just looking for dinner.
Opossums are excellent parents! Photo: WildCareIf you have a water source, raccoons will likely be in your garden, but they’re also happy to forage in your green can. My local raccoons get in there and gobble up whatever I’ve dumped in the way of food. Mostly, they’re pretty tidy about not scattering it around our side of the can. They are also fierce hunters and will eat mice, rats, and baby birds right from their nests.
Skunks are adorable little hunters, too, and if you’re ever lucky enough to have them in your garden in the spring, seeing their babies tussle with each other like kittens is a delightful sight.
This little fawn is trying out the plants in his neighborhood, Photo: Diane LynchRepellents can help deter deer, especially those emitting sulfurous-rotten egg smells. Beware of bloodmeal in repellents, as your dog may think you’ve left him a nice steak. Be sure to read directions before using repellants on food crops. Your best bet with deer is to fence the areas where you need to exclude them and keep the gates closed. Deer-resistant plants aren’t always, so you’ll need to put out samples and see if they eat them…
A coyote in care at WildCare after a likely altercation with humans. Photo: WildCareGophers eat bulbs, roots, and entire plants, which annoys gardeners. Voles go for grass, shrubs, and stems, and moles favor worms, grubs, and insects. Annoying as they can be, they improve soil, aerating and moving nutrients around.
Let’s not forget birds. Owls, hawks, and other raptors also eat rodents, making them important vector controllers. They also eat each other at times…ugh! Smaller birds tend to eat a lot of insects, making them a gardener’s friend, too.
We can live with wildlife, and it behooves us to do so since there’s much to be gained by observing the amazing adaptations of our local animals, including insect and rodent control.