When driving through any national park or game preserve there are usually signs that read, DO NOT FEED THE _________. The blank can be filled in with a number of different animal names, bear, bison, deer, wolves, etc.
The reason for this is because it is not always wise to break the "wild" barrier between humans and critters. These animals are referred to as wild animals because, well, that is what they are, wild animals.
To say that I have never fed a wild animal would be an outright lie. There has been many a Christmas turkey carcass set outside to feed the neighborhood possum. It is really difficult to say, "Oh look at the cute possum!", because..... they be really ugly.
My sister, Lela, moved to the great Southwest a few years ago to be close to her daughter, Ms. Luvsdemcritters and they really enjoy living in the desert.....right smack in the desert.
Ms. Luvsdemcritters is a girl after my own heart. She loves all animals and is even involved in a rescue operation for pets that need a good home.
Although, at first glance, the desert seems to be a barren place, but it is actually teaming with wildlife. There are numerous birds, coyotes, rattlesnakes, mountain lions and the beloved Javelina, aka, the desert pig. The last three above mentioned critters have all been seen in Ms. Luvsdemcritters backyard.
The javelina is not really a pig but comes from the peccary family, a hoofed animal that migrated north from South America. The adults can grow to about 19 inches tall and weigh from 40 to 60 pounds. They travel in groups from two to twenty and their babies are called 'reds'. Javelinas have been known to charge when feeling threatened. This is because they have very poor eyesight, so, in actuality the charging is merely a defense mechanism for a means of escape, they do not actually 'see' what scared them, they are just looking for a way out. We can now give the bats a break and use the phrase, "blind as a javelina".
Javelinas do not like dogs and have been known to seriously injure or kill them. Again, this is not out of being naturally aggressive, but from the instinct to protect the herd....and being blind as a bat.....or, um.....javelina.
Feeding the javelinas creates a couple of problems. The first one being they will return to the food source, looking for more food. They usually will bring the rest of the herd with them, so instead of having 5 or 6 javelina in the yard one day, there may be 20 the next. If there is not enough food to go around, they most likely will eat what ever vegetation is growing in the yard and they do not care if the vegetation was paid for, or just grew naturally.
The second problem that arises with feeding the javelina is the fact that they attract mountain lions. Mountain lions LOVE to eat the javelina. The mountain lions probably have a motto that goes something like, "there's no better way, than to start the day, with a little pulled pork".
Mountain lions have very good eyesight and probably think the bigger the prey, the better, and longer lasting, the meal. If someone is out feeding and frolicking with the javelina, they could possibly look like a smorgasbord to a hungry mountain lion.
Ms. Luvsdemcritters, DO NOT FEED THE JAVELINAS!
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