A little human affection won’t diminish animal’s natural instincts

loading...
When you get roses, you must expect thorns … so, despite the bouquets of nice words tossed this way, there has been criticism among the kudos. A disgruntled reader, irritated by my stand against the caribou transplant project, called the NEWS to protest the “cutesy” manner in which…
Sign in or Subscribe to view this content.

When you get roses, you must expect thorns … so, despite the bouquets of nice words tossed this way, there has been criticism among the kudos. A disgruntled reader, irritated by my stand against the caribou transplant project, called the NEWS to protest the “cutesy” manner in which I write about wildlings and the photo which serves as a logo for this column. If the fellow was turned off by my wrinkles, I could understand … even sympathize with him … but that wasn’t the issue. He believes the photo, which shows me “cuddling” a young raccoon, will give youngsters the wrong impression and encourage them to pick up raccoons … thus risking the chance of getting badly bitten or of contracting some disease such as rabies. And, would you believe the grumblings are coming from the same individual who … about five years ago … came here to make video tapes of me “cuddling” raccoons and other wildlings? He was thoroughly delighted with the action and planned to take the tapes into schools … to be viewed by children!

At the risk of being repetitious, after working with … and “living in” with … wildlings for more than 50 years, I’ve witnessed things to which few have been privy … and learned much from those years of experience … and am still learning! One of the most important things I’ve discovered is … love is almost as nourishing as food in the development of wildlings. Love is just as essential to their all-around health as it is to human beings. Beasts and birds all show affection for their young … either with actions or in the “soft and special” sounds with which they communicate.

Although there are wildlife rehabbers who don’t believe in handling or petting their temporary charges … and some even tease them so they won’t trust humans … I still cuddle, snuggle, stroke and croon to them. They revel in it … soaking it up like the warmth from their heating pads. Such displays of affection from humans will neither dull nor destroy their wild instinct … it’s too deeply inbred. That instinct would diminish in a second generation of captive wildlings … and would be just about wiped out in a third generation. This has been proven in a study with tigers. But if the wildlings are to be released in late summer, early autumn … or held over for spring release … there is a change. They begin to shy away from humans … whom they’ve tolerated only because they needed them. They become uneasy … independent … even irritable or downright belligerent. If they could vocalize, they might start singing that old ballad, “Please Release Me (Let Me Go).”

Of course, there are always exceptions … such as “dropouts” … “ding-a-lings” … and other befuddled ones. Oscar, the bear, is a prime example … but when you consider the fact that he has been the only “dud” among the 10 bear cubs brought in for rehabilitation … those odds aren’t bad!

Speaking of Oscar … he just received an early Easter gift from some Massachusetts admirers. It’s an 11-inch pacifier with yellow plastic handle and shield … and, on the end, a half-pound of milk chocolate. He’s had a hard rubber pacifier kicking around his pen for nearly two years and it’s still in pretty fair shape … considering the sucking and chewing it has endured. Since the new pacifier is made of breakable plastic … and countless calories … I’ll hold onto it while Oscar gets in only a few licks at a time!


Have feedback? Want to know more? Send us ideas for follow-up stories.

comments for this post are closed

By continuing to use this site, you give your consent to our use of cookies for analytics, personalization and ads. Learn more.