Letters

cougar coverage

Dear Editor,

I have yet to see news that treats the puma visit to Chicago with appropriate gravity. A puma was shot in Chicago. Is that a story? Or is there a story everyone missed?

Here’s one. With days of advanced warning, no plan to manage the affair was put in place. Days of idle chatter, culminating in a silly, frantic circus with the police in center ring. Where was the Incident Management Team? Having studied all manner of threats to public safety ad nauseam, we’ve made a science and a bureaucracy of systematic processes for emergency management. And Chicago couldn’t put them to work? Who left this to become a police matter? What was the role for the experts in Chicago, and for the hundreds around the country they could ring up? Pumas in the ’burbs has been a media splash elsewhere for years; here, however, we had no use for others’ personnel, equipment, and public information. Hard to believe.

For another story, look into the significance of a puma arriving. For a once-ubiquitous American large mammal, eradicated everywhere but its remotest niches, to regain some of its historic range has enormous significance in a range of scientific and political affairs — from conservation biology to land-use economics.

Pick one. Don’t stop with the circus police story.

SK Bender
Tinley Park, IL

Editor’s note: Please see the News section for our cougar coverage, and look to future issues for a more in-depth look at the choices we’ll face as some large predators reassert themselves in urban places.

bobcats for real?

Hello,

Is it true there are bobcats in DuPage County? There was a reference to something in the last issue, but when I tell my friends about this, they tell me I’m crazy. I’m still getting used to the idea DuPage now has coyotes. Have there been any attacks by bobcats to humans or pets?

Theresa Johnson
Glendale Heights, IL

Response from Dan Thompson, Forest Preserve District of DuPage County: Yes, bobcats do occur in our area. Ecologists identified bobcat tracks in DuPage County in 2002. However, bobcats are very elusive animals that tend to shy away from humans. They are nocturnal, and sightings are uncommon. Ecologist suspect that populations are small and that bobcats prefer larger forest preserves, where they can better avoid humans. Nationwide, bobcat attacks are quite rare.

fox on the rocks

Hi,

I live in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago, right at the lake and next to a small park. We have what appears to be a family of foxes living near the rocks on the beach behind our building. I’ve seen what is apparently the mother on the beach, and one of the young ones in the park. I talked to one lady this morning who said she saw several young ones playing on the beach while the mother watched nearby.

I wasn’t sure whether or not to call someone. I thought perhaps you might be interested or have some suggestions as to what to do, if anything.

Steve White
Chicago, IL

 

Response from John Elliott, Forest Preserve District of Cook County: What a fascinating example of the adaptability of native wildlife. We certainly appreciate hearing about them, but there is no need to call anyone or “do” anything as they are quite capable of taking care of themselves. You can encourage neighbors to watch them without disturbing them. Enjoy the opportunity for a rare close-up acquaintance with a resourceful fox family.

confused geese

Dear Editor,

I noticed a large flock of Canadian snow geese flying in circles over my location for hours. There were around 100 geese; they seemed to be following each other, in circles. It was a nice, warmish day (March 13). And they seemed very confused. I have noticed many ducks and geese in the past years following a similar pattern. Mallards especially.

Your story (“Birds Flying Backwards”) was a direct hit on something that I have been wondering. Any correlation?

JD
Western Springs, IL

Response from author Nancy Shepherdson: Hi JD. I asked Laura Erickson of Cornell about the phenomenon and she says it is fairly common on nice spring days.

“When geese fly in circles,” she says, “they are very likely inspecting the ground….It’s likely that they perceive it as a good place to land, but, for some reason, suspect that it may not be safe. One of them may have seen a predator, for example. It’s approach-avoidance behavior really.”

Another explanation, Erickson says, especially if this occurs in the late afternoon, is that some parts of the ground may have warmed more than others, creating rising thermals. In that case, she says, they may just be “well-fed and fooling around.” Because yours seemed confused, though, I’d bet on the “maybe we saw a predator” theory. Hope this explains your circling birds a little.