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Most know that red tail hawks, eagles, falcons, owls,
coyotes, and bobcats are only a few of the essential predatory animals in our
region. Essential because they help
maintain nature’s balance by taking care of unwanted rodents, such as
annoying ground squirrels, mice or garden rats. What folks may not know is that
the modern and convenient use of rodent and pesticide poisoning has thrown
Mother Nature a major curve ball in a very big way.
In-depth and Close up
Normally, a reporter does not insert his or her own opinion
into an article the way that an op-ed writer does. What started out as a typical news
article has spiraled into an in-depth, close up and personal look into this
very sensitive and real situation, resulting in a factual, yet somewhat
opinionated piece.
Through investigating this story, I have felt many
emotions. I have learned more than I ever thought I would on this subject and I
have even been brought to tears. I
tell you this, because I am hoping to bring to you a side of nature and
technology, where the two have been mixed together in a way that you may
otherwise never have the opportunity to see -- the wondrous beauty along with
the cruelty that Mother Nature endures, through the eyes of her wildlife, at
the hands of what most say is a usually well-intentioned mankind.
Hidden Nature in the Valley
While interviewing volunteers of the Santa Barbara Wildlife
Care Network, I had the opportunity to see a well-hidden side of nature, an
area that most in the Valley have not seen. Through the many winding roads off of
Highway 154 leading away from the rural pavement and surrounded by nothing but
nature at its best, I couldn’t help but wish that everyone in the Valley
could visit this very unique and pure area.
There is an abundance of wildlife
in this side of the Valley that includes some of nature’s most
magnificent creatures such as owls, eagles, red tail hawks, snakes, and
mountain lions.
Although we may rightfully fear some of them, they actually
help protect us. Snakes eat rodents that carry and spread diseases, some of
which we happen to be prone to. The
result is that snakes help control the population of such disease spreading
pests. Mountain lions on the other
hand are high up in the food chain, and they help control the population of
just about every animal you don’t want in your back yard.
The same can be said of predatory birds such as the red
tail hawk or the great horned owl, not to mention the bald eagle or the
splendid Falcons in our area that help control the population of snakes.
Each of the above-mentioned predators, as with all
wildlife, has its purpose. That purpose is to maintain nature’s
balance. However, that balance is
being dramatically thrown off its axis with the use of rodent and pesticide
poisonings
A Common Myth: Rodents Eat
Poison, Become
Many well-intentioned homeowners share a common
belief. Most think that when
rodents such as ground squirrels or garden rats eat the poison placed for them,
they will simply become ill, crawl in their hole and die.
That’s not so, according to Dr. George Bertram of
Solvang Veterinary Clinic, Trace Eubanks of Pepper Tree Farms, Fish and Game,
and the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network (SBWCN), who receive 20 to 30 calls
a year about sick predatory birds affected by secondary poisoning.
Trace who is a volunteer at SBWCN receives the calls for
injured predatory birds in our area. He explains that the poison “is an
agent that is like De-Con, it’s granular and very sweet.” As a
result, it attracts ground squirrels and rodents, along with untargeted
wildlife and house pets.
Bertram says that the most popular poisons are
“Anticoagulants,” which are also “blood-thinning
agents,” sometimes used to help control blood clotting in humans.
However, other more potent forms such as Brodifacoum, Bromodiolone and Flocoumafen
are widely used for rodent control.
Once the poison is in the animal’s system, by design,
it directly attacks the liver where it is gradually dispersed throughout the
rest of the animal’s body, causing its internal organs to slowly bleed
out. “It is a very long process,” Eubanks says. Bertram agrees, but
adds that insufficient studies have been compiled about the exact length of
time an animal will suffer. “It can vary from days to maybe, weeks
depending on the type of animal and poison used or how much of the poison may
have been consumed,” he says.
With the animal’s internal organs slowly bleeding out
in addition to constant regurgitation, the animal becomes dehydrated. Instead
of staying in its nest to die, it follows its natural instincts by crawling out
of its hiding place in search of a water source.
How Secondary Poisoning of
Predatory Wildlife Happens
Predatory animals such as a red tail hawk or a great horned
owl looking for food will gladly take a slow moving, easy catch over a more
difficult one. When a poisoned rodent or ground squirrel sluggishly comes out
of its hiding place in search of water, its chances of being snatched by a
predator are almost certain.
Once the predatory animal digests its ill-fated prey, it
becomes poisoned. The result of
secondary poisoning, according to several sources including The Fund for
Animals:
Eubanks knows the result all too well and sees it
often. Although he receives 20 to
30 calls per year, according to extensive research conducted by the Journal of
Pesticide Reform, many more birds of prey die unnoticed as a direct result of
secondary poisoning throughout the country.
Education is the Key
“A large part of the problem is knowledge,”
Eubanks said while remembering a call he received from a ranch along
When Eubanks arrived at the property, he says he
immediately knew what had happened.
One of the first things he says he noticed about the ill-looking bird
was the yellow sticky substance coming from its mouth. Eubanks instantly asked her, “Does
anyone here put poison out?” She said they had.
When Eubanks explained to her that the hawk had eaten
poisoned prey, he says she pleaded with him to save the bird. He explained to
her that nothing could be done.
“There is no treatment to reverse the effects of the
poison,” he said.
Accepting the bird’s fate, Eubanks says she hung her head
and cried telling him that if she had known this could happen, she would not
have put the poison out in the first place.
The
Effects on Nature’s Balance
By now you may be wondering, “What does all this mean
and how does it impact nature’s balance?” To help us understand the
effects of secondary poisoning, Bertram and Eubanks explain the breeding cycle
of ground squirrels, owls and red tail hawks. Note that above-mentioned animals
are only three in the long list of nature’s food chain.
“The mating season for the horned owl starts in
January and can last into March,” Eubanks says. “As soon as they
are done, the hawks start their mating season. The reason they do that is because they
use the owl’s nest. It’s convenient. Right now we have little hawks sitting
in their nest,” he said, as he pointed toward a tree on his property with
a visible hawk in it, tending to three of its young.
The breeding seasons and the timing of when the poison is
put out for ground squirrels is a major factor, Eubanks explains. “Unfortunately,
the ground squirrels breed at the exact same time. They mirror the exact same
breeding season as the red tail hawks.”
The result is consequential in several ways. One of the problems is the effect it has
on the reproduction cycle of the red tail hawks, Bertram and Eubanks say.
“They mate for life, so if one was to be missing when the other comes
back to their nest to mate or to have offspring, then the other, spouse if you
will, will wait an entire year for them to return.”
Third-party poisoning is also having an impact on wildlife.
“The hawks are trying to feed their young. They are bringing back the
easiest prey they can get because they have babies to feed and what’s
happening is that we are not only killing off the red tails, but killing the
babies as well, the whole family,” says Eubanks while explaining that red
tails are particular about which parts of prey they choose to feed their
young. “The parents are
feeding the babies the raw meat from inside the prey, like the liver. So they, the
hawklets, basically end up getting the most poisoned parts [of the prey] fed to
them.”
Consequences
in Numbers
Since red tail hawks typically produce three offspring each
season, if one mate dies due to the poisons, it not only affects the reproduction
for that particular year, the effects are equal to three offspring multiplied
by the number of consecutive years that the mates would have otherwise
reproduced.
Just imagine for a moment, the impact that has on the 20 to
30 birds of prey that Eubanks alone responds to. Take the number of those birds, and
multiply it by 3 offspring, and then multiply that, by approximately 10 years
or more.
If only 20 predatory birds consume poison and die, it drops
the reproduction by approximately 60 predatory birds for that one year. That figure is a low estimate and only
includes the number of birds Eubanks receives calls on. In addition, within
five years time, if each hawk not born was to have its three offspring, the total
number of hawks not born as a result of secondary poisoning would be 14,580 and
that does not include the young hawklets who die due to being fed third-hand
poison. Those figures are only an equation to the effects on the reproduction
of the adult poisoned birds that Trace alone responds to.
Secondary poisoning is having an impact on all forms of
predatory wildlife according to Julia Di Sieno, who volunteers for the Santa
Barbara Wildlife Care Network.
“We have responded to calls involving foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and
mountain lions.” Like Eubanks and Bertram, Di Sieno believes that
educating the public is the first step to correcting the imbalance we have
forced on Mother Nature.
Results: Increase in Rodents,
Decrease of Predators
Because we are indirectly killing off predatory animals
that would otherwise naturally control the population of unwanted rodents,
ground squirrels or gophers, we have allowed those very pests to multiply.
The Fund for Animals:
“Predatory animals consume abundantly large amounts
of rodents. They control the
population of ground squirrels, gophers and mice more efficiently than
poisons.”
In addition, they also agree that the populations of
predatory animals are affected more dramatically because they do not produce
offspring as quickly as most rodents or other unwanted pests. Killing two rodents has virtually no
impact on their population. However, killing one or two predatory animals has a
remarkably large impact on their population.
A favorite quote of mine on this subject is from The Fund
for Animals:
“The true tragedy in these situations is that we
inadvertently kill the very animals that would have solved our initial problem
in the first place.”
Eubanks shares the same sentiment, saying, “What
happens is that the squirrels keep populating, but the red tails and owls
can’t. The most important thing to know is that when you start poisoning
the bottom of the food chain, it always works its way back up. And that’s not a good policy to
follow.”
Working Together to Solve the
Problem
There are several ways you can help ease the effects of
secondary poisoning. Encouraging
predatory birds to live near your home is not only an effective solution, but
will also provide you and your family with some insightful and wondrous
experiences, especially during spring time when their eggs hatch. Since hawks tend to stay within a
one-mile radius and devour more rodents than the poisons do, over time, you
will notice a significant decrease of ground squirrels and garden rats in your
area. The best way to encourage predatory birds in your area is to build a
nesting box. It is easy, and
effective. To learn how to assemble your own nesting box, please visit http://www.owlpages.com/links.php?cat=Owls-Nest+Boxes
To link directly to the site, visit this article at
syvjournal.com
Another way you can control unwanted pests on your property
is by “taking away their food source,” Eubanks says. “Keep grains, seeds, and water out
of problem areas.”
In addition, Di Sieno explains that grazing encourages
unwanted pests. “They don’t like to be where they cannot see. Ground squirrels and rodents want
visibility.”
Other effective methods include a variety of traps, which
you can purchase at your local hardware store.
Please be Kind to the
Co-Existing Wildlife in
the Valley
Being somewhat of a newbie here in the Valley, by nearly
five years, I am just now starting to fully understand the sacredness of this
amazing place. I thought I
understood nature, and I did, but not as much as I had given myself credit
for. Seeing the never ending
rolling hills and mountain sides always makes me feel like I’m closer to
nature than I ever was before, and in some ways, I suppose I am. However, I
have realized that there’s a responsibility that comes with enjoying all
of the beauty in this place that I live.
Sometimes something as simple and good intentioned as
wanting my lawn to look nice can result in the poisoning of an owl or a hawk.
When in actuality what I really need, is that owl or hawk to keep my lawn pest
free.
The one thing I have come to appreciate the most about this
community is its respect and understanding of agriculture and wildlife. After
all, we depend on both for our survival and that is something that people in
this Valley have never forgotten, and holds themselves dear to. For that I am
thankful.
Please consider contacting or visiting the below resources
before making a decision on how to rid your property of pests. You just might
be surprised by some of the effective and environmentally safe solutions
available.