Suburban Survival Hazards - Don't Feed Wild Animals

Coyote

With a habitat that is quickly disappearing due to the increase of suburban expansion, many wild animals are quickly losing their fear of humans causing new threats to your survival. These threats can be real for you, your children and your pets.

Many suburban areas are being overrun by everything from coyotes and alligators to skunks, possums and raccoons. Many suburban areas are also being plagued by large deer populations that are destroying yards and gardens while creating traffic hazards as well. More remote suburban areas have additional hazards from even larger predators that may include wolves, bears and mountain lions depending upon the area.

Striped Skunk

Just remember that many of these animals are predators by instinct and will view you, small children and your pets as little more than their next meal. Coyotes in recent years have become especially bad about this in many areas as they have started hunting for food and prey in suburban areas. They are quite often infected with rabies creating an additional hazard.

You can read about the numerous coyote attacks on people and children here:

Coyote Attacks

Drawn by food scraps in open dumpsters, uncovered trash bins and feed dishes for pets left out with easy access, these wild predators are taking advantage of easy meals provided unknowingly by many suburban homesteaders. In the absence of an easy meal, they are also viewing small pets and even small children as a new food source.

While smaller animals such as skunks and raccoons can be quite attractive to young children, they can also carry rabies and other diseases that can be a very real hazard to you and your pets. The treatment for rabies can be a painful experience and a hard lesson for anyone, including a young child, to learn.

One of the best things you can do is to notify animal control officers or a good pest control service in your area of any sightings. They normally monitor activities of this nature and are usually more aware of increasing populations of wild animals in suburban areas and the proper way to rid yourself of this type of hazard. You can also make sure not to leave pet foods out with easy access for wild animals, keep dumpsters closed and trash bins covered.

Got wild suburban predators? Don't become their next meal!

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker