Living in a home with even the smallest acreage means sharing that piece of Earth with a menagerie of wild creatures, big and small. Some are great to have around; others might be less than desirable. Who is there and what should we know about wildlife in our own back yard?
Animals Who are Good for Our Yards, Gardens, and Us
Bees While honeybees are not on the endangered species list, there are several species of bees that are. Bee populations are declining. Bumble bees are in danger of making the endangered list as I write this. Many species of animals, including humans, depend on bee pollination for food sources. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds all rely on insect pollination. The most important thing bees do in your back yard is pollinate. Honeybees collect pollen on their legs, moving it from flower to flower. Bumble bees dislodge pollen by vibration, called buzz-pollination.
About thirty percent of our diet is the direct result of pee pollination. Keeping bee pop-ulations thriving is important. Attract bees to your yard with vibrant and fragrant plants like rosemary, poppies, clover, oregano, zinnias, asters, marigolds, milkweed, lavender, and, of course, butterfly bushes. Bees are very susceptible to pesticides and insecticides, so using these in your yard is dangerous for bees, even if they are not the target.
Get amazing facts about bees at Earth Day.
“The bee is the wisest and cleverest of all animals and the closest to man in intelligence.” —Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII
Butterflies In addition to being just beautiful to look at, butterflies are also important pollinators. Visiting flower to flower to collect nectar, pollen is moved as well. And while we root for caterpillars to make it to butterflies, caterpillars are also an important food source for birds and other animals.
Butterflies love flowering plants like day lilies, lavender, lilac, milkweed, mint, pansies, phlox, snap dragons, zinnias, flowering bushes, berry bushes, butterfly bushes, etc. Butterflies are also very susceptible to pesticides and insecticides, so using these in your yard is dangerous for butterflies, even if they are not the target.
Birds Most people enjoy the beauty of birds and birdsong. Attracting and spotting various species has long been an interesting hobby for humans. Birds are great for gardeners because they eat insects that destroy our plants. Birds, such as bluebirds, sparrows, swallows, and cardinals, eat beetles, grubs, various larva, crickets, and aphids, among others.
Attract birds with seed and water. Get information on identifying and feeding birds at All About Birds.
Bats Having a colony of bats, the only mammal that flies, is beneficial for several reasons. Bats eat mosquitos—a lot of mosquitos. Most North American bats eat about a thousand mosquitos per hour. They will eat for several hours, eating approximately a quarter their body weight in insects each night. A nursing bat eats more than her body weight. Imagine what an entire colony can do!
Bats strengthen ecosystems. Besides being pollinators, bats help plants reproduce in another way. Fruit-eating bats disperse seeds in their poop. But that’s not all. Bat poop, called guano, is actually a fantastic fertilizer. Guano has the ideal ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium—the elements required for plant growth. A colony of bats in your yard eating the mosquitos and pooping fertilizer is all good!
As a side note, if you like agave, or the tequila that is made from it, you need to thank bats! According to the National Wildlife Federation, agave plants rely solely on bats for pollination and reproduction.
To encourage bats to make your yard their home, build a bat house. You can find out how from MNN, or you can buy one online. (If you want to find out if the bat house is occupied, look below it for the droppings.)
Bats are encouraged to stay with a water source and vegetation like moon flower, evening primrose night blooming water lilies, and other evening blooming flowers, as well as scented plants like chives, lemongrass, and thyme. These attract the nocturnal insects that lure bats. However, be aware when picking fragrant plants that bats are repelled by eucalyptus and peppermint.
Learn more about attracting bats at MNN.
Skunks Getting a bad reputation for their spray, skunks are often overlooked as a critter you might want in your yard. But skunks only spray when frightened and the moles and insects they eat might just help your gardens. Skunks are seed spreaders, too, spreading seeds of the plants they make contact with while foraging.
Opossums Among the most misunderstood animals is the opossum, or possum. Perhaps because of their rat-like tail, people are put off by North America’s only marsupial. However, these little critters are amazing tick-eaters, eating about 5,000 ticks in a season. They also eat cockroaches, mice, dead animals, snails, and slugs. And because they eat mice, they reduce the number of snakes hanging around (though many snakes are beneficial for your yard, too). Opossums are nocturnal and sedentary, living in burrows or trees (really any cavity they can find), but they don’t make homes themselves. They freeze when frightened and sometimes stay still for hours until they are comfortable the danger has passed.
Find out about fascinating possums at Opossum Society.
“I’m all for scientific rigor, but when we reject even the suggestion that geese feel glad, elephants love, bats utter, fish get excited, and foxes besotted, then we reduce conscious beings to little more than an organized collection of organs and tissues.” —Jonathan Balcombe
Chipmunks Welcome Wildlife says, “One thing that makes chipmunks beneficial is their feces, which contain the seeds and fungal spores they eat. Wherever they poop, they spread tree and other plant seeds, as well as mycorrhiza, a fungus that’s vital for increasing water and nutrient absorption in plants. (You can see it for yourself—it’s the white, root-like filament that grows from the roots of your potted plants, those in the ground, and possibly even in your compost bin.)” Chipmunks are not only adorable, they’re good for the yard!
Chipmunk information can be found at Welcome Wildlife.
Is it true that if you see a nocturnal animal during the day it is sick?
This is not necessarily true. Animals who are ill or injured might be out in daylight and display strange behaviors, unusual aggression, paralysis, falling, walking in circles, or making unusual sounds. However, an animal seen during the day that is not displaying these behaviors, looks agile, coordinated, acting normally, is foraging for food or has a baby with it, is probably fine. There are instances when nocturnal animals are forced to come out during the day. Being awake and out is not, in itself, cause for concern.
How can you tell if an animal has rabies?
Rabies is a virus that affects the nervous system. It is spread through saliva, generally from bites. Only mammals can get rabies, although according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), possums and North American bats are very resistant and do not, as a rule, carry rabies. Rabid animals might stumble, as if drunk, act overly timid or overly aggressive, have an over-production of saliva causing drooling, or have paralysis. But, as stated earlier, merely being out in daylight is not an indication of rabies or cause for concern unless other symptoms are present. Unfortunately, the only way to know for sure if an animal has the virus is a postmortem examination. Rabies is treatable in animals and humans if it’s caught in time.
You can find out from several sources more about rabies, how to recognize it, and what to do if you are bitten by a rabid animal at Share Care.
Are coyotes dangerous?
Many people are afraid of coyotes because they’ve been known to prowl residential neighborhoods. Although coyotes can attack small companion animals and even humans—usually very small children—the risks are minimal and can be prevented if we are conscious
of our behavior.
If you know there are coyotes in your area, first do not attract them by feeding them. It is a good idea to have secured trash bins with lids that cannot easily be pried off. The scent of food and the ability to get to it is a lure for coyotes, as well as other animals, including smaller animals that are coyote prey. Especially small dogs and cats should not be loose outside. We all love to feed the birds, but if you have a coyote in your neighborhood, it might not be a good idea. Bird feeders attract rodents, such as squirrels, which are prey for coyotes and that will keep coyotes around. As noted above, the mere sight of a coyote during the day does not mean it has rabies.
“Coyotes have the gift of seldom being seen; they keep to the edge of vision and beyond, loping in and out of cover on the plains and highlands. And at night, when the whole world belongs to them, they parley at the river with the dogs, their higher, sharper voices full of authority and rebuke. They are an old council of clowns, and they are listened to.” —N. Scott Momaday
If you do encounter a coyote, Urban Coyote Research says, “Shout or throw something in its direction. Do not run away. Do not play victim if you can help it. If a coyote seems intent on defending a certain area, particularly around pupping season (May), your best bet may be to alter your route to avoid conflict with a normally calm animal; understand that there may be seasonal patterns of behavioral changes and act accordingly.” If you know a coyote is in your neighbor-hood, they suggest having a can full of pebbles around you that you can shake to scare it away with noise, if necessary.
You can read more about coyotes at Urban Coyote Research.
What should you do if you find an abandoned or injured animal?
There are a lot of factors to consider when you think you have spotted an abandoned or injured animal, including if it is indeed injured, or just left temporarily by its mother, or perhaps only sleeping. Unless the animal is in immediate danger, it is a good idea to watch from a distance for long enough to make the determination before touching the animal. Look for a broken wing or limb, signs it had been caught by a predator, if it is shivering or bleeding. If you suspect an animal has been orphaned, watch long enough to know there are none of its species nearby caring for it. Many people make the mistake of removing a baby animal, thinking it abandoned, when in fact the parent or parents are nearby. For some animals there are things we can do ourselves to give care, but for others it is best to seek help from a professional wildlife rehabilitator.
For a list of wildlife rehabilitators by state: Media PETA.
Rabbits PETA has this advice if you find a nest of baby cottontail rabbits: “If a nest is discovered or disturbed, place the baby rabbits back in the nest and leave them there unless they are injured or you are certain that the mother has been killed. Many people assume a mother is dead simply because they have not seen her return to the nest in quite some time, but this is completely normal. Female cottontails usually only come to feed their young twice a day, at dawn and dusk, because this decreases the chance of alerting predators to the nest’s location. If you are not sure if the mother is coming back to feed them, try placing a string over the nest. If the string has been moved by the following morning, the mother has returned.”
If the babies are indeed orphaned, call a wildlife rehabilitator. Baby rabbits do not do well when raised by hand due to the stress, and many don’t make it.
Songbirds It is not true that a mother bird will ignore a baby that has been handled by a human. We can help them. Nestling and fledgling birds are handled differently as they are in different stages of development and ability to survive without a parent. PETA.org has very detailed instructions for what to do if you find a songbird:
Nestling songbirds (babies with no feathers, small and weak) “If you either can’t see or can’t reach the original nest, you can make a surrogate home for nestlings out of a small basket, kitchen strainer, or small plastic container with holes punched in the bottom. Line it with shredded tissue paper; don’t use cotton, grass, hay, straw (they can cause respiratory problems), or old birds’ nests (which can contain parasites). Hang it in a sheltered place that is not accessible to cats or dogs and is close to the original location. Parents of nestlings will continue to feed their young if the nest has been disturbed or if the babies have been moved, as long as the babies are close (100 yards or so) to where their parents left them, are in a safe location, and no humans or other animals are nearby. Mother songbirds feed their babies frequently. Watch quietly from a distance for several hours to make sure a parent returns.
If a nestling is injured, weak, and shaking or if its parents do not return, place the baby inside a paper towel-lined margarine tub and place the tub inside a well-ventilated cardboard box. Warm the animal by placing one side of the box on a heating pad (low setting) or by placing a hot water bottle inside the box. Place the box in a closet or other warm, dark, quiet, safe place away from people and other animals. Do not offer the animal food or water and please do not attempt to care for the animal yourself. Contact a wildlife rehabilitator and arrange transport to a licensed facility immediately—because every second counts!”
“In order to see birds, it is necessary to become a part of the silence.” —Robert Lynd
Fledgling Songbirds (young birds who are mostly feathered and learning to fly) “They can be moved a short distance to a tree or dense shrub to keep them safe from traffic and cats. Fledglings’ parents are usually close by, so never attempt to rescue fledglings unless they are in immediate danger; their parents are the best ones to teach them to survive in the wild. If a fledgling is clearly injured or ill, gently cover the animal’s head with a lightweight towel and use clean or gloved hands to place him or her inside a newspaper or paper towel-lined cardboard box. If the animal can stand, make it a low perch by poking a stick through both sides of the box. If the animal cannot stand, roll a towel into a horseshoe shape and place it inside the box. Prop the animal onto the towel to prevent it from rolling over during transport. Cover the box with a fitted screen and a towel. Do not offer the animal food or water and please do not attempt to care for the animal yourself. Contact a wildlife rehabilitator and arrange transport to a licensed facility immediately.”
Squirrels Put the baby in a box at the base of a tree. The mother will find it and bring it back to the nest it fell from or another safe location if the nest has fallen out of the tree. Keep away and resist the urge to keep checking on the baby because mom will not come back until she is sure it is safe to do so. Obviously, keep dogs and cats away. If mom does not come back, or if the injured squirrel is an adult, call a wildlife rehabilitator.
Deer Unfortunately, adult deer do not do well in rehabilitation due to the stress. When injured, such as breaking a leg, there is very little humans can do to help. Most do not survive. Having the animal euthanized is the most humane thing to do. If you see an injured adult deer, the best thing to do is call a wildlife rehabilitator who can help make the decision if the deer can be saved and is best equipped to do so, if necessary.
Fawns Quiet and motionless most of the day waiting for their mothers to return, fawns are often mistaken for orphans. Deer mothers nurse only a few times a day. If you think a fawn has been orphaned, watch for long enough to be sure. Do not approach or touch the fawn because deer have a highly developed sense of smell. If it is absolutely necessary to touch the fawn for some reason, wipe it clean with a towel and watch to be sure the mother does not reject it.
Adult Animals PETA has this general advice for caring for an injured adult animal: “Adult wild animals can be dangerous to humans, so please contact a humane society and/or wildlife rehabilitator to obtain specific instructions before attempting to rescue them. If the animal can fly or run away, chances are that it is fine for the time being and might just need to be watched from a safe distance for a few hours or days to ensure that its condition isn’t worsening. If rescue is absolutely necessary and the animal is completely immobile and unconscious, drape a blanket or sheet over the animal’s head and body and, using gloved hands, lift the animal into a newspaper-lined box or crate. Cover the box or crate with a towel or blanket and place it in a dark, quiet place. Do not offer the animal food or water and please do not attempt to care for the animal yourself. Contact a humane society, veterinarian, or wildlife rehabilitator and arrange transport
to a licensed facility immediately.”
“Because we have viewed other animals through the myopic lens of our self-importance, we have misperceived who and what they are. Because we have repeated our ignorance, one to the other, we have mistaken it for knowledge.” —Tom Regan
How can you distinguish a venomous from a non-venomous snake?
The most common venomous snakes in the United States are the copper-head, cottonmouth, diamondback, coral snake, and rattlesnake. Venomous snakes have certain identifying features; however, there isn’t any consistency. Therefore, to identify a venomous snake, several factors must be considered. Most venomous snakes have a triangular head. It is a good rule of thumb, but there are exceptions. In general, non-venomous snakes have a more spoon shaped head. Venomous snakes in the U.S. tend to have varying colors. That is, usually solid colored snakes are non-venomous. Obviously if there is a rattle, it is a rattlesnake; however, there are snakes that mimic this behavior by rattling their tales, except without a rattle, the sound is not the same. Lastly, most venomous snakes have a heat sensor, a small depression, between the eye and nostril called a “pit.”
Get detail, diagrams, and information on venomous snakes in other parts of the world at Wiki How.
Why shouldn’t we feed wild animals?
According to the USDA, there are reasons why feeding wildlife is not always a good idea.
People food is not good for animals. It may not have the correct nutrients and may even cause serious health problems. For example, bread given to birds and ducks causes their stomachs to fill up easily and bread lacks the nutrition they need. Malnutrition can be a problem as they fill up on bread and not the foods they should be eating. Mold or algae growing on discarded bread may also be dangerous for some ducks and birds.
Animals continually eating unfamiliar foods that humans throw out for them may cause them to become unable to distinguish an unfamiliar food from wrappers and other trash causing them to eat things that are not food at all.
Feeding wildlife may lead to animals losing their natural fear of humans. This is a problem for several reasons. Animals may put themselves in harm’s way by approaching humans that are not kind and, indeed, intend to cause them harm. It can also lead to begging, becoming a nuisance, or overpopulating a particular area because of the food source and lack of fear.
Throwing food out of cars while driving is very dangerous. You might think an animal will be happy to find your apple or leftover fries and you might be right, but food that lands on or near a roadway is attractive to wild animals that subsequently get run over trying to eat it.
If you are feeding animals, such as birds and squirrels in your yard, do so from a feeder, never by hand. This can cause the animals to get too comfortable with humans. It can also cause unintended injury if the animal startles.
So, remember when you are about to spread weed killer on your lawn or insecticide on your vegetable garden, that these poisons can have fatal effects on the animals you might not even see.
Living in harmony with our backyard wildlife
Whether you attract the animals you love or just enjoy who happens to be there, there is no denying the beauty of wildlife. We tend to think of wild animals as the zebras and giraffes in Africa or the wild horses out west, but wildlife exists all around us. Bees and butterflies, chipmunks and possums, birds and squirrels, lizards and frogs, them and more, all inhabit their little piece of our back yards. Not everyone likes to feed them and watch them, but they are there.
Useful Websites for Helping Wildlife
How to attract butterflies (One Green Planet)
16 dazzling facts about hummingbirds (Tree Hugger)
How to attract hummingbirds (WikiHow)
Do’s and don’ts of feeding wildlife (HavAHart)
What to do with injured or orphaned birds (Best Friends)
What to do with orphaned/injured animals (MNN)
How to tell if a snake is venomous (WikiHow)
What to do with animals in your yard
How to identify birds and bird calls (All About Birds)
Bat house FAQ (Habitat for Bats)
How to tell if an animal has rabies (WikiHow)
What to do if you find a baby animal (PETA)
Wildlife rehabilitators by state (PETA)
Facts about bees (Earth Day)
How to attract bees (WikiHow)
Learn about honey bees (Honey Bee Center)
Attracting bats (Mother Nature Network)
Facts about possums (National Geographic)
Chipmunk information (Welcome Wildlife)
Learn all about coyotes (Urban Coyote Research)
Avoiding coyote conflicts (Urban Coyote Research)
The benefits of skunks (Live Science)
What to do with injured deer (Flint Creek Wildlife)
