Man builds a big house in the hills. The birds continue to flock as they have always done. Man calls wildlife pathologists about noisy birds outside his window every morning.
It happens.
As do mice in kitchens, deer jettisoning over roadways to meet their maker at the business end of a sport utility vehicle, and a rabid fisher — a relative of the weasel — attacking a Glenville woman taking out the trash.
Other animals are looking down from the hills at the warm glow of predator-free, food-laden developments and are soon scratching a living in man’s backyard. They are also moving into the green spaces and refuges many municipalities are setting aside as part of their comprehensive plans and development strategies.
The fact is, wildlife is growing accustomed to man, his machines, his homes and his sprawling housing neighborhoods, and as they do, they quickly get blacklisted as vermin, despite the fact that they were there first.
`When I was a boy in Columbia County in the late 1950s, I did a lot of work on farms. The crows were scared to death of people. They got out of there when confronted. Agriculture became less and less, people stopped shooting at them, and the crows went into areas inhabited by people,` said Ward Stone, wildlife pathologist with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
It’s a trend that has taken place with many wildlife species, said Stone. Efforts to either control man’s spread into open spaces or keep man out and the wildlife in, are repeatedly failing.
Spans of fields once used for farming or covered in dense forest are leveled and left partly paved and the rest sown with grass. Some species are driven from the habitats and some see the development as another, even better, habitat. And there are those animals that use the developed areas to pass through to untouched feeding or breeding grounds, said Stone.
`Coyotes, fishers, red fox and even deer, to a lesser degree, which were once absent from suburbia have become not common, but not rare,` said Karl Parker, senior wildlife biologist with the state DEC Region 4 Bureau of Wildlife.
Region 4 covers Albany, Columbia, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Delaware, Otsego, Schenectady and Schoharie counties.
Throughout Region 4 and the state, the trend over the last decade has been to cut wildlife a break, and set aside small areas of lands slated for development. The key to the strategy has been to plan these areas so that they connect with neighboring wildlife spaces, said Parker.
But it doesn’t always happen. Even if it does, many people don’t like the thought of nature taking its course as packs of coyotes track deer and other mammals through these green highways in people’s backyards.
In some instances, these wildlife refuges get overrun with higher-breeding mammals. Animals like squirrels breed and thrive in alarming numbers in suburban areas. The same can happen with deer. Those populations are out of reach of natural predators and licensed hunters.
Any attempt to exit these `refugias,` as Parker calls them, usually results in direct confrontation with humans. Birds fly into windows, deer jump in front of cars and competition drives some animals into people’s backyards and sometimes their homes, said Stone.
`The real threat is not the wildlife. The real threat is us. We import exotic bushes, bring in invasive (plant) species and change the habitat,` said Stone.
We make the ideal habitat for these animals, he said. The problem will get worse before it gets better.
If you build wildlife habitat, wildlife will come, said Parker. They are not just green areas to look at. The problem with people, he said, is that they think they understand nature.
`They have this image of Disney (World), that when you set land aside, everyone will live happily ever after,` he said.
Both Stone and Parker recommend, although they have different takes on them, a management plan for people as they look to begin actively co-existing with nature again.
Stone has repeatedly pushed for the redevelopment of existing structures rather than tearing down and building new, or letting other properties sit in squalor while the empty lot down the street is cleared for development.
Parker has personally put his experience into the development of such areas, although some by law came before his agency for review and approval, as towns, cities and suburbs look to reconnect with wildlife.
He looks to each area in particular to gauge what it can sustain and what could come of it.
It’s not always best practice to set aside a patch of wetland in accordance with regulation and then surround it by pavement, he said. And it is not always best practice to take 100 acres, build on 50 of them and leave the rest to wildlife. It simply depends.
`The bottom line is there is no easy answer. Get tolerant of the animals as much as you can,` said Stone. `Be selective of how you deal with wildlife.`
It’s proactive ecology, said Stone.
SIDEBAR: Though rare, rabies is a real threat
By CARI SCRIBNER, Spotlight Staff
A true stand-off of between man versus wild took place in Glenville this month, sending a chill down the collective spines of all local residents since, rare though they may be, attacks by rabid animals aren’t just found in the movies.
Louise Scheuerman, 60, lives on Sanders Avenue in Scotia, a neighborhood that’s a far cry from a wilderness location.
`The funny thing is, we just moved here in January, and where we used to live in Oswego County, it was very rural and there were miles of woods around,` said Scheuerman. `There are woods behind my house here, but an animal attack was the last thing I ever thought about.`
Scheuerman was taking out the garbage on a Monday evening when she heard vicious growling, and out of nowhere, something launched itself at her, knocking her over.
`When you’re being attacked by a dog, you think to yourself, `OK, this is a dog,’` said Scheuerman. `But this was making a horrible noise, and I didn’t recognize what it was ` it was like something from a Stephen King book.`
`It` was a fisher, a member of the weasel family, about 10 to 12 pounds with sharp fanged teeth. The frothing animal bit into her foot and refused to let go.
`The survival instinct kicked in, and although my first thought was to grab the animal with my hands, the rational part of my brain warned me not to,` said Scheuerman. `I reached around and grabbed a fire extinguisher, thinking I could spray it, but I didn’t have time to read the directions.`
Instead, she whacked at the animal several times before it unlatched from her foot and ran away. Dazed and in shock, she limped inside and called her husband.
`He asked me if I’d called 9-1-1, but I hadn’t even thought of that,` Scheuerman admitted. `The whole incident probably lasted less than a minute, but it seemed like forever.`
The fisher was tracked, located and killed, and then Scheuerman received what most people would say was the worst of news: The animal tested positive for rabies. Doctors at St. Claire’s Hospital prepared her for the grueling series of rabies shots, the first of which had to be administered directly into the wound itself.
`One of the hardest things about the injection was I had to lie on my back, and I was all bruised and banged up from the fall,` said Scheuerman. `But I didn’t cry. I’ve had three children so I know pain. Honestly, the biting hurt far worse than the shot.`
After the initial treatment, Scheuerman received another injection two days later, and will continue the course weekly until the end of the month. The remainder of the shots are given in the arm.
Remarkably composed about the ghastly incident, Scheuerman said she was glad it happened to an adult rather than a child.
`The animal would have mauled a child, and the shots would be very traumatic,` she said. `It had been chasing around my neighbor’s dog, so it was out there behaving aggressively for a while. People need to be aware and on the lookout for animals behaving strangely.`
Rabies. The very word brings to mind strange animals frothing at the mouth, ravaging victims who then spend weeks undergoing painful injections, which at one time went directly into the stomach.
Although both of these images are myths (animals infected may have difficulty swallowing, and therefore may drool slightly; people receive injections now in the arm), the rabies virus is rare but still occurs around the Capital District.
`At any given time, we have a handful of people undergoing rabies treatments,` said Marcia Fabiano, epidemiologist for the Albany County Health Department. `We do see many more cases during the summer because the bat population is higher and many animals hibernate during the winter and come out in the spring.`
Last year, 85 people received rabies treatments in the state, most from contact with bats in bedrooms. But not every web-winged nighttime flier is rabid: Last year the health department tested 252 bats and found just six to be infected. However, if someone is bitten and the bat can’t be located, they will undergo treatments on the assumption they’ve been exposed.
`That’s why we tell everyone to trap the bat safely, with a coffee can or something, to be tested,` said Fabiano. `We always have to err on the side of safety.`
Instances of infection by wild creatures such as a fox, weasel, porcupine or woodchuck are unusual, Fabiano said.
`The vast majority of the cases are from scratches or bites by stray cats,` said Fabiano. `Any mammal, even cows or deer, can contract rabies, but last year in New York state, we found 29 rabid cats and one rabid dog.`
Although Fabiano has heard anecdotally of an otter and a guinea pig with rabies, smaller animals such as mice, rats and squirrels generally don’t carry the disease, because they would die during the attack by another rabid animal.
`I get frequent calls from people with squirrel bites, but squirrels are by nature territorial and people try to feed them, which is a big mistake,` said Fabiano. `Again, be careful, wildlife in any form isn’t meant to be a pet.`
Left untreated, the rabies virus attacks the central nervous system. By the time humans become symptomatic, it’s too late.
`Symptoms range from tingling in the limbs to difficulty walking to changes in mental cognition,` said Fabiano. `They can take months to appear, but once they do, rabies is fatal.`
According to the National Center for Infectious Diseases, in the United States, post-exposure prophylaxis regimens should be administered as quickly as possible following infection.
The treatment is a regimen of one dose of immune globulin and five doses of rabies vaccine over a 28-day period, starting as soon as possible after exposure. Additional doses of the vaccine are given on days three, seven, 14 and 28 after the first vaccination. Current vaccines are relatively painless and are given in the arm, like a flu or tetanus vaccine.
If you are exposed to a potentially rabid animal, wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water, and seek medical attention immediately to have your risk for rabies exposure assessed. Having the following information will help: geographic location of the incident; type of animal involved, whether the exposure was provoked or unprovoked, the vaccination status of animal and whether the animal can be safely captured and tested for rabies.
Steps taken by the health care practitioner will depend on the circumstances of the bite. Health care practitioner generally consult with state or local health departments, veterinarians, or animal control officers to make an informed assessment of the incident and to request assistance.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) also urges people to beware of outdoor animals, and never handle, feed, or unintentionally attract wild animals with open garbage cans or litter. Other guidelines include never adopting wild animals or trying to nurse them to health. Call animal control or an animal rescue agency for assistance.
According to the CDC, bats are the most common source of rabies infection. Prevent bats from entering living quarters or occupied spaces in homes, churches, schools, and other similar areas, where they might come in contact with people and pets.
When traveling abroad, avoid direct contact with wild animals and be especially careful around dogs in developing countries. Rabies is common in developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America where dogs are the major carriers of rabies. Before traveling abroad, consult with a health care provider, travel clinic, or your health department about the risk of exposure to rabies.
Scheuerman said her experience with the rabid fisher has given her a new perspective she hopes will be a lesson for other homeowners in the area.
`Rabies is something to be aware of,` she said. `When I’m in St. Claire’s, there are a bunch of other people in there getting rabies treatments, so it’s out there, it does exist.`
Determined not to let the attack change her way of thinking, Scheuerman has made it a point to get back outside, although it’s difficult for her to look at the spot where the fisher threw itself at her.
`I cringed when I saw where he sat growling,` she said. `I have to say, I can’t go outside without giving a double take. I’m putting it all behind me; I’ve told myself to go back out with that damn bag of garbage. But, it will be a long time before I go to a zoo. And, I put that fire extinguisher right back where it was.`
Scheuerman said she hopes the incident will remind people that wild animals are exactly that, not something cute or something to be unaware of.
`We all have to live together, but people have to be very watchful and very concerned,` she said. `Rabies is out there. I’m just glad I got help quickly, and that good treatment is available. We don’t need a mass panic, but we do need to be constantly watchful.`
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