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Texas Superpredator: WRR responds to misinformation presented
by the San Antonio Express-News.
 For
Immediate Release
Monday, February 19, 2007
Myth of the South Texas Superpredator
WRR responds to misinformation presented
by the San Antonio Express-News.
Kendalia, TX – Monday, February 19,
2007 – There was just enough nervous anxiety and bloody
imagery in Zeke MacCormack's call to arms ("Predator
attacks on livestock and game are rising," 2/10/2007)
to make for highly entertaining if disturbingly misinformative
reading. Unfortunately, most San Antonio Express-News
readers had no way of knowing that the terrifying vision of
superpredators slinking their way into the Hill Country and
laying waste to farmed animals, native wildlife, and entire
hunting enterprises was a gross exercise in hyperbole and
error.
Yes, there are a few ranches in Bandera County
that experienced low numbers of deer births this season, but
county-wide the numbers are on par with the surrounding area,
according to state wildlife officials. And the deer populations
in surrounding counties — like Texas on the whole —
are booming.
 According
to Texas Parks & Wildlife, Texas hasn't seen its deer
population crash since it started keeping records. The biggest
impact on deer population is anthrax, of which we had the
most destructive outbreak as recently as 2001. However, deer
herds are so healthy in Texas that it was only three years
later that the state was encouraging people to shoot the does
to help put the brakes on the population.
Mr. MacCormack's article went on to suggest
that a ban on lethal toxicants in 1972 was responsible for
a surge in predator populations and a "decline in once-common
sheep and goat operations — as well as fewer deer, turkeys
and other game."
In fact, it was the loss of subsidies that
reduced our "once-common" sheep and goat operations
in Texas. This shift did thankfully reduce the numberof traps and bullets tearing coyotes apart, but wildlife
biologists insist that the principal reason for any decline
in wild bird populations is the loss of habitat due to human
population growth and development decisions, read: Sprawl.
While predation can play a role on a seasonal
basis in localized areas, it is land fragmentation, reduction
of wildfire, and the introduction of exotic grasses that play
by far the largest role in any declines here.
And so coyotes have once more been targeted
and blamed not only for a few lost lives, but for past human
failures and the future jeopardy of area exotic hunting industries.
The larger, factual (and more fascinating)
story is how these animals have not only adapted but thrived
as they have been systematically targeted with the intention
of wiping them off the face of the earth. That would be a
story that could inspire readers about a remarkable and too-often-blamed
creature some Native American cultures know as "God's
Dog."
 Responsible
and protective ranchers have employed various tactics to protect
their lambs and kids for a long time. Vigilant guard animals
like dogs and donkeys have proven themselves indispensable
the world over. Ranchers have learned how to adjust their
breeding cycles and to pen their animals at particular times
of the year to reduce the likelihood of predator attacks on
young. These days, more resources then ever before are available
to reduce predation: plastic collars, for instance, prevent
coyotes from being able to easily grasp and kill sheep, and
electronic alarms have been proven to reduce sheep losses
by up to 60 percent.
When it comes to nature and wildlife, interdependence
is more than a buzzword. It is a lesson for each of us. As
we witness, for the first time in our shared history, the
human altering of our global climate and watch with trepidation
for the signs to come, we still have much to learn about this
Earth and its wondrous creatures.
By prizing the resourcefulness of those around
us, by learning from the creatures of the Earth, we can enter
this uncertain future better equipped for what is to come.
Hopefully, we can leave the bullets and steel traps behind.
About Lynn Cuny
Lynn Cuny is the founder and director of Wildlife
Rescue & Rehabilitation in Kendalia, Texas. She is the
author of two books, Through
Animals' Eyes and Through
Animals' Eyes, Again. Her monthly column "Wild
Lives" examines animal issues and the intricacies of
human-wildlife relationships.
About Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation
Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation (WRR)
(www.wildlife-rescue.org)
was founded in 1977 in San Antonio by Lynn Cuny. Our mission
is to provide rescue, rehabilitation, and release of orphaned,
injured, and displaced wildlife, and provide sanctuary with
dignity for non-releasable and non-native wild animals who
have been the victims of the exotic pet trade, rescued from
roadside zoos, or used in research. Today WRR volunteers and
staff annually receive 5,000–6,000 animals at our 187-acre
sanctuary outside Kendalia, Texas. Over 600 wild and farmed
animals make their permanent home at WRR.
Contact Information
For more information about Wildlife Rescue
& Rehabilitation's sanctuary operations or educational
programs visit www.wildlife-rescue.org
or contact Education & Advocacy Coordinator Gregory Harman
at education@wildlife-rescue.org
or (830) 336-2725.
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