I certainly love our dogs. Suka and Gryphon are friendly, beautiful, and playful. They are also allowed the run of the lands surrounding our home. As half-wild dogs, they fill their days with lazing in the sunshine, exploring the woods, and chasing animals.
It’s this last that bothers me. As companion hunters, they have learned how to herd rabbits into their jaws. Once or twice they’ve cornered and killed a raccoon. I can’t be sure, but I think that once they even killed one of the wild turkeys that have played such a powerful part in my own life.
With their tendency to ravage the wildlife, I’ve always considered them a negative impact on the local ecosystem. When they bring a rabbit back to the yard and sit down to share it, I admit that I sometimes have looked forward to the future, when their lives are lived and we no longer have dogs. Instead of torn and broken rabbits lying in the snow or grass, I imagine rabbits under our bird feeder, deer coming into the yard, and having to chase raccoons off the deck with a stick. In short, I imagine a healthier ecosystem where Rebecca and I are able to re-connect with the wildlife that our dogs spend their lives terrorizing.
Rethinking
Lately, we’ve been reading Where the Wild Things Were by William Stolzenburg. In the book, the author presents a convincing argument, citing many field ecologists’ work, that apex predators play a key role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Interestingly, they do this not only by regulating the number of their prey, but perhaps more significantly, by creating a culture of ‘fear’ (I’d prefer to call it a culture of awareness or vigilance) among the prey. In other words, the prey’s behavior is altered when they are aware that predators share the forest with them. In Yellowstone, the scientists found that elk tend to avoid the edges of streams when wolves are present. Stream edges are places where elk can be easily trapped by wolves, and the elk know it. Without as many elk, the willows can grow, which creates healthy stream banks for many species. The result is that the riparian ecosystems have seen a powerful recovery since the wolves have been re-introduced.
Here at our own land, we’ve often noticed that our six acre plot seems strangely abundant when it comes to certain plant species. We have raspberries and black raspberries. In the spring, the trillium blooms, and our woods are home to bloodroot, soloman’s seal, hepatica, and jack-in-the-pulpit, all in abundance. Yet, during our hikes in the surrounding woodlands, we’ve found that these plants are much more difficult to come by. We haven’t seen trillium in any of the hundreds of acres that surround us, there are scant wild berries to be found in the 250 acres of woods and fields that the neighboring farmer lets us hike, and other plant species have become rare hidden gems scattered through forests that can sometimes feel a little empty.
We had never thought much of this until we began to read Stolzenburg’s book, and to consider that there might be a reason for the green abundance on our land. This is the place where our dogs most often roam, play, and hunt. Might Suka and Gryphon inspire a culture of vigilance among the prey species — the main browsers — in our ecosystem? They’ve never killed a deer (the photo above is of a deer that a hunter shot that later died of its wounds — the dogs dragged parts of it back home to enjoy), but they certainly keep the deer running. As for rabbits, the dogs play at least a small part in keeping the numbers down.
Now I find myself pondering something new. When the dogs are gone, perhaps we will indeed have the rabbits and deer coming back to our land. But what, I wonder, will happen to the bloodroot, the soloman’s seal, and the lovely, pink-tinged trillium?
A Wild Thought
This thinking has brought me full-circle back to my year of chasing wild turkeys. What might happen if (in addition to re-introducing apex predators), humans took up a new ’sport’ — Wild Running? Might not cross-country, on/off- trail, and ultra runners have some fun, connect with nature, and also do some ecological good if they began taking their running out into the wildlands? What if humans began chasing animals?
I know, it’s an odd proposal. Yet consider what it might do. The Wild Runner’s goal wouldn’t have to be to catching an animal. Indeed, if an animal turned out to be injured (as did one deer I began chasing last autumn), the runner could give up the chase and search for a healthy animal to pursue. The goal wouldn’t be to catch animals — only to give chase. The human runners would be fulfilling half the role of the apex predators — inspiring a culture of vigilance among the prey. If enough people in a given area took up the ’sport’, it might alter the prey’s behavior enough that some of the browse might return. With a return of the plants, native butterflies and songbirds might come back to the area. Insects and amphibians that were no longer supported in the ecosystem might find it suitable once again.
At the very least, it would get people out into the woods more. I can envision a culture of minimally-shod or barefoot runners enjoying long runs through the wild places, connecting with nature and bringing back stories of their adventures. At best, if such runners were set loose into areas that have suffered “trophic cascade” (a loss of numerous species that is triggered by the removal of apex predators), it might alter the browsers’ behavior enough to make at least a small difference in the health of various ecosystems throughout the world.
What do you say? Anyone want to join me on a Wild Run, chasing the deer or the elk?
Posted on March 17th, 2010 by Kenton and Rebecca
Filed under: Getting Outdoors, Networking for Nature | 16 Comments »
