Critter Chronicles: Squirrels and Rabbits

For some reason, I haven't been seeing squirrels in the park in the section between Foster and Melrose, where I've seen as many as a dozen and a half as I go by on the bus. I suspect it's because there are a lot more people in that part of the park than is normal -- or a lot more dogs being exercised. That section is normally pretty much people-free, but I guess a lot of people are still not working and the weather's been mostly pleasant, if somewhat hotter than usual. Maybe the squirrels are self-quarantining.

On the other hand, I've recently seen hordes of rabbits in the neighborhood -- well, four. The most I've ever seen at once before is three; it's usually one or two. I suspect these may be a litter that's all grown up and out exploring the world -- they seem rather playful, chasing each other around then stopping to crop the grass.

I haven't seen many rabbits at the Zoo or in the park around the Zoo lately. I don't know if they're just not coming out or if the Zoo staff have made an effort to thin the population. There used to be quite a few in the Zoo proper. I once saw a rabbit feeding at the base of a shrub at the south entrance; a squirrel was foraging on the other side of the shrub, and, inevitably, they ran into each other. The squirrel levitated about three feet, and the rabbit just disappeared -- they can move really fast when necessary. It was one of those moments.

Herons

I saw what I think was the first black-crowned night heron to arrive at Lincoln Park this afternoon. Black-crowned night herons are endangered in Illinois, but there are a couple of nesting colonies in Lincoln Park, one in the Children's Zoo at Lincoln Park Zoo and one farther south.

Originally, there was a small colony on the island in South Pond. The Zoo staff, being very conservation minded, immediately set it up as a sanctuary, with signage on the boardwalk and everything. The herons, as perverse as any other creature, decided they liked the red wolf habitat in the Children's Zoo better -- they seem to prefer nesting in somewhat spindly trees, such as birches, which I find odd -- they're fairly clumsy clambering around the branches. In the beginning, there were maybe eight or ten nesting pairs, making a racket and dropping guano all over the place. Over the past few years the population has grown until they've pretty much taken over the Children's Zoo during nesting season -- if you want to visit the Children's Zoo in the summer, you'll find it wise to take an umbrella.

At any rate, it looks like they're back (although it's a bit early, I think).

The Great Outdoors -- Sort Of

For those of us who are pretty much housebound, here's a nice post from Water Girl at Balloon Juice with links to remote cameras at various zoos, aquariums, and outdoor parks.

Here's a sample from Chicago's own Shedd Aquarium:

Sea otters make everything better.
💙 🦦 Let’s all pause, take a big breath and watch Yaku play! pic.twitter.com/TiNslLvQhW

— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) March 21, 2020

The City In a Forest

So yesterday, as I was about to come in the front gate, there was a rabbit sitting on the sidewalk, for the second evening in a row. I stopped, we chatted (well, I chatted; the rabbit was chewing on something), and then I decided I had to come in, since it was a little chilly.

The rabbit decided it was time to go somewhere else.

It really is like living in the woods, sometimes.

It Can Be Done

But not by this administration. The contrast between Australia and the US is even more stark than you might imagine:

 CreditAsanka Brendon Ratnayake for The New York Times

It’s a magical sight: Just as the light begins to vanish, thousands of tiny penguins waddle out of the surf on an island in southeastern Australia, then head up the beach and along well-worn paths toward their burrows.

The “penguin parade” has been a major attraction since the 1920s, when tourists were led by torchlight to view the nightly arrival of the birds — the world’s smallest penguin breed, with adults averaging 13 inches tall — from a day of fishing and swimming.

For much of that time, the penguins lived among the residents of a housing development, mostly modest vacation homes, in tight proximity to cars and pets, as well as ravenous foxes. The penguins’ numbers fell precipitously. But in 1985, the state government took an extraordinary step: It decided to buy every piece of property on the Summerland Peninsula and return the land to the penguins. The process was completed in 2010.

The Trump regime, of course, goes the opposite route, setting the stage for wiping out our remaining wildlife.

Mouse Update

I have to confess, I was a little worried about the mouse (mice) -- it didn't seem that the food I left out had been touched for a couple of days, but there have been strange noises coming from under the air conditioner (which, you may remember, is under my desk). However, yesterday someone cleaned his (their) plate, and now I have one very bold, very tiny little guy who's been running around in plain sight while I'm at the computer, and keeps making hits at the new food while he thinks I'm not looking.

So I am reassured that all is well.

Today's Must-Read

The Anthropocene is on us, and it ain't pretty:

The number of wild animals living on Earth is set to fall by two-thirds by 2020, according to a new report, part of a mass extinction that is destroying the natural world upon which humanity depends.

The analysis, the most comprehensive to date, indicates that animal populations plummeted by 58% between 1970 and 2012, with losses on track to reach 67% by 2020. Researchers from WWF and the Zoological Society of London compiled the report from scientific data and found that the destruction of wild habitats, hunting and pollution were to blame.

The creatures being lost range from mountains to forests to rivers and the seas and include well-known endangered species such as elephants and gorillas and lesser known creatures such as vultures and salamanders.

The collapse of wildlife is, with climate change, the most striking sign of the Anthropocene, a proposed new geological era in which humans dominate the planet. “We are no longer a small world on a big planet. We are now a big world on a small planet, where we have reached a saturation point,” said Prof Johan Rockström, executive director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, in a foreword for the report.

The Field Museum of Natural History, at the end of its "Evolving Planet" exhibition, marks the present as the Sixth Mass Extinction. I had thought they were being just a bit alarmist, but apparently not.

It all boils down to something I've been saying for years: There are just too many people. Human beings are, with the exception of some termites and ants, the single most populous species on earth, and we put a tremendous strain on resources.

The biggest cause of tumbling animal numbers is the destruction of wild areas for farming and logging: the majority of the Earth’s land area has now been impacted by humans, with just 15% protected for nature. Poaching and exploitation for food is another major factor, due to unsustainable fishing and hunting: more than 300 mammal species are being eaten into extinction, according to recent research.

Pollution is also a significant problem with, for example, killer whales and dolphins in European seas being seriously harmed by long-lived industrial pollutants. Vultures in south-east Asia have been decimated over the last 20 years, dying after eating the carcasses of cattle dosed with an anti-inflammatory drug. Amphibians have suffered one of the greatest declines of all animals due to a fungal disease thought to be spread around the world by the trade in frogs and newts.

There are some small rays of hope, but there's a big "but":

However, some species are starting to recover, suggesting swift action could tackle the crisis. Tiger numbers are thought to be increasing and the giant panda has recently been removed from the list of endangered species.

In Europe, protection of the habitat of the Eurasian lynx and controls on hunting have seen its population rise fivefold since the 1960s. A recent global wildlife summit also introduced new protection for pangolins, the world’s most trafficked mammals, and rosewoods, the most trafficked wild product of all.

But stemming the overall losses of animals and habitats requires systemic change in how society consumes resources, said Barrett. People can choose to eat less meat, which is often fed on grain grown on deforested land, and businesses should ensure their supply chains, such as for timber, are sustainable, he said.

The big question, as always, is "Is there the will to do what's necessary?" I'm not convinced.

A Breather

Via Digby, a look at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards. I like this one:

There aren't any car graveyards around here, but it's the sort of thing you might stumble across in the city.  I once had sparrows nesting on a window ledge under an air conditioner.

Read This Sign

Via Andrew Sullivan