wild things

"There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot."
- Aldo Leopold, naturalist


Last Sunday afternoon I got the urge to take a walk on our land. With Champ at my side (though not for long as he loves to run hither and yon, exploring) I headed down to a part of our land that we have chosen to let sit and return to its natural, or "wild" state. It is impossible to farm this piece of land during wet years on account of the fact that it used to be marshland. As I approached the northeast corner of this marshy area I noticed Champ barking almost hysterically into a clump of of brush and I knew that he had cornered some kind of animal. It was over the fence and into the neighbor's property so I couldn't see the animal. Usually it's a coon or a possum so I just called to Champ as I headed in an opposite direction down our property line. But shortly after calling out to him the barking turned into an all-out snarling and scuffle as this animal must have decided to make a break for it. By the time I turned to try and see who Champ had gotten into a fight with this time, the animal had run from Champ, crossed the drainage ditch and was proceeding up a tree on the opposite bank. That's when I finally saw that Champ had picked a fight with some kind of a wild cat. It had the exact same shape as a house cat, except it was two, maybe three times the size of a domesticated cat - roughly the size and weight of Champ himself. It had a solid, tawny color and I'm sure it must have had a long tail, not a bobbed one that a bobcat would have or that would have caught my attention. Later, as I was looking online for descriptions of wild cats, I came to the conclusion that this must have been a small cougar, most likely a female, or a juvenile. We have had more than one report of cougar sightings in our county within the past year, including paw prints along our own road about a mile away. When I told my partner at work he said there had been a report of a cougar sighting within the past week near his area. Information that I could glean from the internet said that cougar sightings have been on the increase in this part of the midwest, though there is no confirmation that these animals are actually settling into the area and having litters. It is still an open debate about whether the cougar is actually making a comeback to an area that has not been its habitat for over a hundred years. If that is in fact what is happening then I may be among one of the first to be an eyewitness to this phenomenon!
To some this is a scary, alarming development, especially if you raise smaller livestock such as sheep or goats. Cougars have been known to even attack horses and cows. Even though cougars rarely attack humans, it has happened, though it is usually in cases where human populations have impinged on cougar habitat to such an extent that the wild cats have gotten so familiar with humans that they have overcome their natural shyness.

Understandably, my wife is now fearful of taking walks by herself in the woods or the marshland. I guess because I am a male fear was not my response, but rather excitement - a strange, new kind of pleasure. I am not a hunter, and although I can understand why some hunt game for the purpose of eating it, I cannot appreciate hunting simply for pleasure. Hunting wild animals that are becoming too numerous and a genuine threat to our safety and livelihood is also understandable. But I think I am willing to allow cougars to make Illinois their home again if they so choose. A part of me thrills at the idea of living so close to such a large predator as a cougar. But such a reality would entail a greater soberness and carefulness that we are not familiar with. Carefree walks on the wilder parts of our land would become only a memory. The walks would definitely continue, but with increased vigilance and awareness. That may not be all bad.

I've been considering getting into the livestock business at some point, on a small scale. Knowing there could be an increasing danger of predators will figure into my decision whether or not to go ahead with those plans. All of a sudden life has become a bit more complex. Again, that may not be all bad. Complexity, biodiversity, is one of the goals of permaculture. Creator enjoyed making this world of ours full of incredible diversity, yet modern "development" continues to kill off His creations in favor of our own. Ironically, while we have assumed that our own creations have made life safer and more comfortable for us, in retrospect we are discovering that these creations of ours are, in fact, in danger of bringing about our own extinction.

This is not a simple or easy topic. But I'm more willing to take risks with Creator's "wild things" than with man's. There is a mystery and a wisdom there still waiting to be explored if one is willing to face the challenge and the risks. As Tumnus the faun said to Lucy at the end of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (in an attempt to explain Aslan) - "He is not a tame lion." Which Aslan would you rather get to know? The original, true Aslan, or a safer, tamer version?

The Spirit sent [Jesus] out into the wilderness, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals . . ."
Mark 1:12,13