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Predators Don’t ‘Coexist’ With Prey

By Patrick DurkinMay 19, 20182 Comments

Predators and the prey the prey they pursue – some control experts would say they should simply learn to coexist. 

Here’s a real coffee-spitter, folks.

That is, it’s a story that makes you gag or chuckle in the middle of a sip while reading your tablet, smartphone or newspaper.

The story was shared nearly 20 years ago in the Washington Post, and concerned the good town of Gaithersburg, Maryland, which was befuddled by a common problem: too many deer in its suburbs.

I stumbled across this story the other day while clearing out a little-used filing cabinet. To recap: A real-estate developer (boo, hiss) was preparing to break ground on a 1,700-home community called Lakelands. While doing that prep-work, he learned of a Gaithersburg regulation that required him to inventory wildlife on the property. He was also required to develop a plan and pay for the animals’ relocation or on-site management.

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People and deer don’t “coexist.” Theirs is a natural predator-prey relationship that will exist as long as the two species share the same habitat.

That seems fair and responsible, I suppose. Well, the developer and wildlife biologists decided the best plan was to hire a sharpshooter to thin the herd of 200 deer at a cost of $30,000 to $40,000. After all, the herd had already eaten away the area’s vegetation, and deer in the surrounding county were causing 1,800 car crashes annually.

Staggering totals, right?

Pfft!

No matter. Predictably, local, state and national chuckleheads started browbeating the Gaithersburg City Council, which unanimously rejected the sharpshooting plan. Here comes the coffee spitter. Instead, the council endorsed a plan by an animal-rights group for the community to “coexist” with the deer.

Their plan called for an 8-foot highway fence and street reflectors to route the deer to nearby open space before the construction projects began. The fence would, in theory, keep the deer from wandering across the heavily traveled highway, steering them (Warning! Giggles ahead!) to a highway underpass leading to county park lands where they’d live happily ever after.

Of course, no good cost estimates for the “coexistence” plan were possible. At some point, however, I’m sure the $40,000 sharpshooting plan looked like a great bargain.

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Bald eagles aren’t seeking a fair fight or neighborly disagreements when attacking prey.

After all, herding deer is tougher than herding cats. Although some deer get confused enough to trot through underpasses, whitetails aren’t just another group of four-legged travelers jamming moving walkways between airport terminals. They’re skittish creatures that panic when confined and confused, and therefore avoid tight quarters. Further, fences eventually fail and reflectors merely confuse whatever they’re blinding.

What’s most laughable, though, was not the fight over which expensive program to choose. It’s the philosophy behind this fence-and-tunnel money pit.

“Coexist,” they said.

Sheesh. Until 20 years ago, “coexist” was a word reserved for Israelites and Palestinians, Irish Catholics and Protestants, and maybe even border rivals like Bears and Packers fans, Michigan and Ohio State fans, or Alabama and Clemson fans.

But people and deer? Coexist? Excuse me while I roll my eyes.

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Prey animals like rabbits and squirrels don’t expect to enter into covenants or agreements that forbid predators from eating them.

Coexist implies two warring groups with equal rights — and responsibilities — learning to live as neighbors. But there are no feuds or historical grudges to set aside between people and deer. And when was the last time you saw deer contributing to public debate, paying taxes, refraining from jaywalking or eating their neighbor’s shrubs and vegetables?

Nature has much simpler methods. We’re roughly divided into two groups: predators — omnivores/carnivores — and prey — mainly herbivores. (Notice there is no “vs.” between the groups. This isn’t a game or a war.) The first group has eyes on the front of their faces, and the second group has eyes on the side of their faces. The first group chases, kills and eats the second group, which is typically fleeter of foot and quicker to regenerate.

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Foxes chase rabbits and rabbits try to outrun them. Slow rabbits become food. That’s nature’s way.

There’s no hate or prejudice between predator and prey, and no long-term feud to set aside. Eating or being eaten is just nature’s way. It’s a system that has worked throughout Earth’s existence. More importantly, it’s all the philosophy most herbivores can understand, sparing them the nuisance of political debates.

Unfortunately, herbivores in places like Gaithersburg must tolerate the misguided mandates of people whose philosophical roots run no deeper than the cement underfoot.

Patrick Durkin
President at Wisconsin Outdoor Communicators Association
Patrick Durkin is a lifelong bowhunter and full-time freelance outdoor writer/editor who lives in Waupaca, Wisconsin. He has covered hunting, fishing and outdoor issues since 1983. His work appears regularly in national hunting publications, and his weekly outdoors column has appeared regularly in over 20 Wisconsin newspapers since 1984.
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