Urban wildlife

On Wed, 8 Dec 2004 10:32:56 -0500, "Tim J."
wrote:

Scott Seidman wrote:
"Wolfgang" wrote in
:

And all this within the limits of the city of Milwaukee. Oddly, I
generally see more of these and a few other species (with the
exception of the deer) here in the city than out in rural areas.

I wouldn't necessarily call the Greater Rochester Area urban, but just
yesterday a red tailed hawk landed roughly 15 feet from me. Deer are
fairly routine. I spied a river otter galumphing along the side of
the Erie Canal in Fairport one morning on my way to work--there's no
telling what the outcome of our reintroduction program will be. I
see a nice owl every once in a while. Skunk, coon, possum, fox, all
pretty typical. Coyotes around here, but they seem to avoid people.
Beaver swim around me while fishing, but it seems to depend on the
year. Snakes also enjoy swimming up to me.

I found a banded bird skeleton under a bridge during a river cleanup,
and it turned out to be a racing pigeon from Brooklyn, of all places.

We've got roffians up this way - lots of them. Normally they stay
hunkered down, keeping to themselves while making low growling noises,
but you can get them to be a bit more sociable by flashing a SNPA and/or
some cheese. Still, like all wildlife, you'll want to keep your guard
up, because they'll revert back to their wild instincts without a
moment's notice (usually about the time the SNPA and cheese runs out.)

If you've never seen one, they are hideous creatures, sometimes emitting
a strong odor. While normally found more in the countryside, they will
wander into more urban areas. Usually this behavior occurs between 8:00
and 17:00 and is only so they can perform tasks which allow them to
spend more time is the less urban settings. While they normally hunt
alone, they have been known to form packs and cause great destruction.
They're are at their most dangerous between midnight and 5:00AM, and I
have heard them shriek as if in agony at 2:00AM. If you find one
sleeping in their den, it's best not to disturb them except with a long
stick and good running shoes.

Screw all that - just treat 'em like rattlesnakes or water moccasins: shoot on
sight...