Wildness

Do you ever see Wild Animals?

Yes, squirrels and pigeons, both of who have a hereditary history around here. I don’t think the ones I see can be over 30 years old and I have been watching their antics now for all that time. I suppose it must be sequential generations.

The pigeons certainly have a familiar look about them. There is always the brave one, who will stand behind me while I fill their bowl in the garden with mixed corn, once the brave one has had their fill , the others can eat. The brave one looks you in the eye and wing flaps to be fed. The others aren’t quite so bolshy.

The squirrels are grey ones of course, I hope I never find an injured one, because they would have to be euthanised as they are not regarded as native to this Country. They certainly seem pretty native to me .

Anything that roams or flies freely around is a gift to me if I see it. Let’s face it most healthy wild animals want to stay out of sight of predators. Unfortunately, humans are the top weapon assisted arrogant predator.

Wild birds are something I see the most often. Red Kites fly around here a lot, they were successfully bred in Wales and have worked their way eastwards and now are commonly sighted in Oxfordshire. I ‘m not sure about their predation, my understanding is they are scavengers, but they hover around us and my husband is convinced they will predate small cats or possibly pet rabbits in gardens, or maybe small birds or baby squirrels. Why hang around here if not for food.

Hedgehogs live around here too, and we have seen our rather large ” Daddy” hedgehog at night, but no hoglets. So I think we have a solitary male living under our shed and doing the rounds probably impregnating females and doing his upmost to continue the species, but definitely maintain his independence.

I’ve seen non-native deer and native deer on my dog walks and was once told by a woman with a three legged spaniel that her dog lost it’s leg after going after a deer and coming off worse, the muntjac (non-native) having turned and bit the spaniel’s leg which subsequently got infected.

Wild animals are wild and pets are pets. We need pets as companions, but a wild animal is it’s own master, and though when times are bad their life may be harsh or indeed catastrophic. They are a life- force to be admired and respected.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading