Day 2
On the second day, Brian made friends with a chipmunk. This was not difficult after the dogs spilled their food. (By the way, they need to make a portable invisible fence for campgrounds...) They are not used to being tethered up. Needless to say, their food and water was often overturned and the dogs got stuck in the picnic table, under the tent guy wires, in the branches and in the bushes. So, when the food got overturned, we received visits from various types of wildlife including the chipmunk pictured here. It was eating out of Brian's hand. Brian grew to know the habits, entry points and times his little friend would come into camp. Well, as Brian was learning this information, so was Maggie. Without saying much else, Maggie followed instinct and Brian's little friend was lifeless in the grass after she escaped from the tent. Brian and I both shouted at her but it was too late. After that, Brian learned to NOT feed the little animals that came into camp. Maggie tiptoed even lighter around us and hung her head, knowing we weren't pleased but not understanding why we weren't impressed with her hunting skills.
When Maggie first came to us, she was very shy. She stayed upstairs for a long time and wouldn't come down. We had to feed her up there. We also had to leash train her, which resulted in midair sommersaults and distressed yelping. Eventually she came closer and closer. After awhile, she would sit by me. She still hates being picked up, though. In fact, if she barks too much, I will threaten to pick her up and that usually results in a submissive stance as she jumps up on the couch on her own. (Oddly enough, it even works if she is already up on the couch.) We have concluded that she must have been abused at her last home. She really doesn't warm up to folks very fast and especially hates men. We understand that she was an outside dog, but don't know why anyone would do that to such a thin speck of a dog.
Anyway, she was really rattled by her tongue-lashing. It took much time and me sitting on the ground at her level for her to finally come back. She was so sorry, though.
4 comments:
I really enjoy your recent posts, Ande. One of the things I regretted as I looked back on you and your sibs growing up was that you grew up with too much concrete and plastic between you and the earth. Your blog proves that I didn't do as much harm as I thought.
Keep being natural.
POOKA
I'm really sorry to hear about the poor little chipmunk, but I hope you guys have learned your lesson about feeding wild animals. Btw, squirrels and chipmunks bite small children at state and national park campgrounds and trails all of the time, because they have learned to approach humans for food. In some of these incidents, apparently, according to the NPS, the child was bit because the rodent wanted a piece of food the child had.
in this case, the wild critter ended up on the wrong end of the rope. Maggie was just being a dog - but the chipmunk was being reinforced by Brain - and most likely by someone before him - to act unnaturally. It is not natural for wild animals to approach people and beg for food.
And the day a black bear and her cub approaches your campsite for spilled dog food, I would not expect Maggie to come out ahead on that one.
Please learn to keep a cleaner campsite before you venture to someplace like the Rockies or Smokies.
I'm sorry to be so preachy, but this is one of my all-time pet peeves of other campers/hikers. My mom used to do this as well, with raccoons. The results are almost always tragic/destructive.
If you really love animals and nature, please let them be.
Thanks.
Your preachy friend,
Bee
Thank you, Dad for your encouragement. Lake Villa helped me with the nature appreciation. That and my soft insides.
As for you, Bee, stop preaching to the choir. We will no longer feed our dogs when we take them camping with us - at least until we find a vacuum sealed kennel in which we can feed them.
If you would go north and camp sometime, you would discover that some of these animals such as the gray jay and the chipmunks are not afraid of people and will swoop down and help themselves even if we are right there. They are known for being camp "pests". I would like to know how you feed your dogs if you do not set their food out at feeding times. It isn't a matter of us not picking up their food, but racing to get there before the animals do. As for the mama bear and her cub, you will find that these animals are timid and won't approach the campsite if people are there - such as during feeding times.
We are well-versed in our knowledge of wildlife, camp rules and such. We keep all coolers and food in air-tight containers in the vehicle until ready for use, do not allow food in the tent and keep our dogs tethered. When leaving the campsite for the day - or whatever - we take our garbage to the dumpster. We pick up our dogs' poo and don't use sticks or natural debris to use as kindling for our fires. We don't take souvenirs from nature to use for scrapbooking because this would disturb the natural balance. We pick up garbage that we find from irresponsible campers.
We are fond of camping at one of the best campgrounds in the Boundary Waters area and do our part however we can to keep nature as natural as can be. We want to keep coming back and better yet, want to see more moose, bear and wolves in the area.
Please do not assume that we are in the group of campers that don't give a shit or that are ignorant of their impact on nature.
Love you!
A
The only time that an animal came into the campground and did any damage was when something took off with one of Ben's shoes that he left outside the tent doorway. We never did find that shoe. Considering the size of Ben's feet, this had to be an animal of formidable strength or size.
P.S. The Rockies and the Smokies are not as protected as the Boundary Waters area. They are also overly inhabited by campers of the KOA breed. If you would like to come north, you could see that most visitors to the area are more the intellectual type that is environmentally conscious. Most areas of the Boundary Waters cannot even be accessed by vehicles or motor boats. Most lakes do not allow motor boats. Canoes and kayaks are everywhere as are the equipment you need to camp in the wild. The lakes are so clear despite the leaves, branches and trees that have naturally fallen in over the years.
I would be more than happy to give you a tour of the area...
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