Fad, fashion, politics and opinions sway from left to right like the pendulum on a clock. In the time of Aristotle, it was thought that pulling the arms and legs off a monkey would be no different than pulling the hands off a clock. Shocking? Well, today the pendulum certainly has swung the other way.
Audubon, patron saint of bird watchers,wrote on February 7, 1832, "The white-headed eagle proved to be good eating, the flesh resembling veal in taste and tenderness." Audubon killed 5 bald eagles that day for specimen and sport. Later, in 1888, Barton Evermann of Illinois wrote, "Scarcely does an eagle come into our State now and get away alive."
During the first half of this century,our government paid people to kill eagles. From 1917 until 1952,more than 100,000 eagles were shot in Alaska for bounty money. From 1942 to 1962, in the southwest United States, 20,000 golden eagles alone were shot.
Here comes that pendulum! Now our government spends thousands and thousands of dollars protecting our country's wildlife through the US Fish and Wildlife Service within the Department of Interior.
Fifty years ago, you picked a chicken,wrung its neck and had dinner thirty minutes later. Here comes the pendulum! Now that chicken (totally unrecognizable and removed from our conscious thought) is hidden between two warm toasted buns. Products marked "Environmentally friendly" sell like hotcakes - even if it secretly took a rainforest to make them!
Maybe in our world today, just maybe,the pendulum is swinging past reality. Cute Walt Disney movies make us believe that all animals are friendly little vegetarians that love humans. Most of us don't live on a farm or walk in the woods daily so we are far removed and comfortably distanced from the reality of nature's food chain.
This unreal look at the natural world makes it very unpopular to talk about predator prey relationships. Everyone wants to save the bunny, but no one wants to face the importance of leaving an unmowed field for the hawk, the coyote or the fox to hunt and eat the bunny. Even though IRC volunteers spent hundreds of hours caring for 273 bunnies in our hospital one year, it is a reality to us that many of these rabbits WILL BE EATEN by other animals when released. That is part of their purpose on earth.
Another unpopular subject today is the fact that our pets interfere with the natural world. Pet owners sometimes close their eyes to the knowledge that their beloved pets are unnatural predators that kill thousands of birds and small mammals every year in our country. More than any oil spill ever has!
The Illinois Raptor Center's goal is to make people understand that wild animals DON'T WANT TO LIVE IN A TREE..........they WANT TO LIVE IN A FOREST! And surely and quickly, we are destroying habitat at an alarming rate. Right here in Illinois - maybe in your backyard.
As we destroy swamps, wetlands, and old growth forests, we replace them with ponds and well-manicured lawns. Everywhere you look - the same habitat. Canada geese,mallard ducks, starlings, sparrows, squirrels and raccoon habitat.Where on earth will the other species live if we don't save ALL the varieties of habitat?
Understanding the natural systems that govern wildlife by Jane Seitz. Published Spring 2000.
Remember as Spring approaches to leave a little "green" for wildlife. An unmowed lot, a dead tree left standing, a brush pile not burned, a hedgerow not cut,a bush left untrimmed, a nestbox hung, grass clippings not raked, small sticks not picked up, acorns not gathered, fruit unpicked,a watchful eye along the roadside, a cat kept inside, a child taught to care, a Peterson's Guide next to our chair. A lot of little things add up. Please contribute something!
Jane Seitz
Executive Director