Essays

Wild On The Prairie: Learning

Role of anecdotal evidence
June 9, 1999

“ I saw a jaguarundi.” Several West Texans have claimed in the past year. “ I saw a black cat a little bigger than a bobcat.” As one of several disseminators of local natural phenomena, should the Sibley Nature Center inform the public that jaguarundis live here?

Professional scientists would say the arrival of jaguarundis is only remotely possible. No specimens have been recorded anywhere near here. In the scientific community a jaguarundi researcher would be required to produce a specimen found in West Texas to be taken seriously. Otherwise, only photographic evidence clearly depicting a jaguarundi in unique local habitat is acceptable to establish a scientific record.

The role of the Sibley Nature Center is to help people learn what lives here. We are not professional scientific researchers -- we collect data to help us gain a clearer picture of our local environment. When someone tells us that they have spotted an animal that is far from its normal range, we record the story, but do not treat it as scientific fact.

Three different people have told the Sibley staff about their sightings of a jaguarundi. One of these individuals is known to our staff as a careful observer - a rancher who carries a field guide library of animals, plants, and birds in his pickup at all times.

Have jaguarundis moved into West Texas? Maybe. Could be. Who knows? Will it turn out to be like the thousands of sightings of black panthers? No specimen of a black panther has ever been found.

The natural world is a mystery. Humans are not all-seeing or all-knowing, and never will be. We create folktales to help us understand the natural world. Anecdotes about black panthers can represent the mysteries unknowable to us. Folktales are transformed into facts with the presence of specimens.

We love to hear stories people have about their encounters with the natural world. Often a story will illuminate a behavior of an animal and amaze us with a demonstration of that animal’s intelligence.

Two years ago a homeowner called Sibley to inquire about what might have killed a box turtle. The turtle’s head and legs had been sliced off. Could it be a very mean child, or could some wild animal do the damage? Our answer: it could be a child, or it could have been a raccoon or a fox.

Soon after, the homeowner found more of her backyard turtles killed in the same fashion -- one on her roof, and another lodged in the fork of a tree. She gathered up the remaining living turtles and placed them in a small enclosure with chicken wire over the top, and placed it where tracks would show. Raccoon tracks appeared the next morning. A trap was set with smelly anchovy paste as bait. The raccoon was captured and was transported thirty miles into the country.

As the Sibley staff began telling her story in our programs we learned that two other residents in the same neighborhood had lost turtles in a similar way. WHAT A SMART RACCOON! The coon had learned it could obtain an easy meal in many backyards. This story raised a question: how did the raccoon find the turtles at night? Box turtles usually find shelter at night, burrowing into mulch, under firewood stacks, under decks, or a den that they dig. Could the raccoon smell the turtles? Were the turtles catching bugs under an outside light after dark?

People have had a close relationship with the natural world throughout history. Our languages are enhanced by that close relationship. Think about some of our expressions: hogwild, slippery as a snake, cunning as a fox. When a person interacts with the natural world the mind is stimulated. Humans instinctively seek understanding of their surroundings. When little data exists to form a full understanding, we often let our imaginations fill in the unknown. In this way folktales are created.

When data is collected over time some of these unknowns become familiar. As facts are collected and analyzed, one result is learning about the breadth of human imagination. Folktales are a wonderful human response to the unknown. Just as wonderful is the ability of the human mind to analyze factual information, thereby creating a more realistic image of the natural world. There is always another question to be answered when a person is actively observing the world around us.

Many people have reported locations for the tree squirrels now found in town. At least half of Midland has been visited (or taken over) by tree squirrels. Some have caused damage to houses and are now considered pests. Other animals have moved to town as well, and the Sibley staff would like reports about their locations and habits.

Green anoles appear to have become an established member of the urban forest ecosystem. Green anoles are brown when at rest, and bright green when active. It is presumed that these lizards arrived in Midland in potted plants sold at local nurseries. Mediterranean geckos arrived the same way. Both species might die out, however, if another long cold winter occurs.

Occasionally, a person finds a Green Tree Frog, which travels to new habitats the same way as the anole and gecko. A breeding population, however, does not seem to have become established. Residents neighboring Wadley-Barron Park have reported several species of turtles that were probably brought home by fishermen and released after being kept as pets.

Another immigrant is well known: the Argentine fire ant has now spread over most of Midland. They will survive wherever we water our landscapes, and also in drainage ditches and on the banks of floodwater holding ponds. Fire ants do not seem to survive long in the pastures, possibly due to the dryness. The first fire ants in Midland arrived in old railroad ties used as landscape timbers, and others probably arrived in sod or balled-and-burlapped trees.

A number of animals are extending their ranges on their own, helped by the development of the mesquite brushland that has replaced the old buffalo prairie. Porcupine, raccoons, opossums, white-tailed and mule deer, javelinas, ring-tails, mountain lions, blue jays, Mississippi kites, cicada killer wasps, and others have found the evolving habitats of brushland, urban forests, and wastewater ponds to their liking.

Many species of wildflowers and garden weeds have also come to Midland. Almost one hundred species of plants currently found in Midland County were originally found only in other countries. Rescue grass (commonly called wild rye) came from South Africa, as did Johnson grass. Both were introduced over a century ago elsewhere in the United States for forage. North African Rue arrived on the mothballed World War II planes at Pyote, and then spread as far as Midland and Carlsbad. Mullein and Texas Paintbrush have only been found at the Midland International Airport.

Seeds travel unnoticed, hiding in packing boxes, the treads of car tires and tennis shoes, and dust or encrusted mud in or on almost everything transported. Several species of plants have been found only along railroad tracks. With so many Midlanders raising horses, goats, ostriches and other livestock, many seeds have arrived in hay and other feed.

Each year brings a new element to the diversity of the ecology of the southern Llano Estacado. What will be able to survive? What will become pests? What will be the next immigrant creature or plant? It is fascinating and exciting to keep watch!