Essays
Moseying: Living La Vida Llanero
How much should we fear mountain lions, rattlesnakes, and wildfire?
March 12, 2008
How should people respond to danger? The other day two people called the Sibley Nature Center from a housing development on the north side of Midland with concerns about mountain lions. Up to 10 lions sightings have been reported just west of the Midland Country Club in the last 6 months. A video recently circulated via email among regional oilfield employees that showed over 80 rattlesnakes being caught in a rarely used building in the Pemberton Field, which prompted several oil companies to call the Sibley Center to find out if anyone specialized in removing rattlesnakes from rural structures.
Should we kill every rattlesnake or every mountain lion we see? A ranching friend once told me the following: “The Good Lord has a reason for every animal and plant on the face of this planet. We can learn lessons from each. Rattlesnakes help us remember that we should always be watchful and alert. Careless people get hurt. People who do not watch and observe and think are the ones who get hurt. Besides, rattlesnakes are doing a job for me, by keeping down the numbers of their vegetation-eating prey, so my livestock have more to eat.” When he would find the track of a mountain lion visiting his property, he would tip his hat to the brush around him and say, “Good hunting, buddy! Keep the local deer herd strong.”
In the late 1960s and early 1970s the screwworm fly was eliminated by dropping billions of sterile males all across Texas. After the screwworm fly was eliminated, populations of animals increased exponentially, including deer. Deer are the major prey for mountain lions, so mountain lions increased. Mountain lions usually patrol an “hunting loop” of over a hundred miles in length over a space of seven to ten days. The mountain lions north of town do not live there all the time, but only visit as they go along their hunting loop. Other Midlanders report mountain lions regularly visiting the Monahans draw area south of town.
Ross Calvin wrote years ago that the "Sky Determines" the culture of a region – in his book he declares that New Mexico's aridity shaped its Indian, Hispanic and Anglo residents. The history of each region is directly tied to its environment and its limitations. We believe that the lessons "learned from the land" give people resolute attitudes – the stories of our forefathers enduring the primeval barriers to life can teach us confidence and strength. In neither our educational system, nor our media, we do not learn about those primeval barriers, nor do we learn about the natural limitations of a region. By not doing so, we have broken a basic connection to the best aspects of humankind, which arise from meeting the threats to our survival -- cooperative (generous and altruistic) behavior, and innovative, inventive and creative thinking. By not learning the stories of the land, we become separated from the natural world, and we sometimes worry too much about the natural threats that surround us.
Mountain lions, grassfires, and rattlesnakes are part of our landscape. We cannot prevent all wildfires, nor can we kill every mountain lion or rattlesnake. We can learn how to behave if we run into a mountain lion (stand tall, wave your arms and yell.) If we run, the lion will think we are food. In mountain lion habitat, we learn not to jog at daybreak or at sundown, because their prey (deer) often feed at that time. To avoid being bitten by a rattlesnake, we can learn to walk through pastures with respect, always putting our feet down where we can see them, and reach to the ground with our hands only after looking first.
During the month of February grassfires burned over a half-million acres of West Texas, prompting evacuations, killing livestock, destroying fencing, and destroying buildings. Our semi-arid prairie brushland has adapted to fire over the centuries. Every rainy period will be followed by a dry year, and either lightning or man will sooner or later burn the dried-out litter left after the rainy times. Fire keeps our ecosystem healthy, according to ecologists. We can learn never to toss a cigarette out the window, or to weld on a windy day without wetting the ground, or to pull onto a grassy shoulder on the highway where a hot catalytic converter can start a fire. Many ranchers bulldoze a bare strip just behind their fence lines as protection from the careless behavior of ignorant passerbys.
Please visit the Wadley-Barron Park on A street. On the southwest corner is a new sign that was erected recently. Sibley Nature Center staff designed the sign after receiving a grant from the City of Midland. The sign discusses playas and the wildlife that visit the Park.
On April 5, 2008 we will have a plant sale beginning at 9 a.m. This sale will benefit our trail development project. Keep an eye out for more information about the sale. Next week’s story will discuss the species we are bringing in – we are focusing on species that the local nurseries do not handle. A small number of winter jasmine are available now. Call before you visit, so one of our staff can be available to take you to the greenhouse.