It’s hard to imagine that a solitary harbor seal, frolicking among the gentle swells as they roll across a jetty on Long Island’s South Shore, might somehow be a harbinger of problems for human beings. The increasingly common sight of harbor seals in the waters surrounding the island is an indicator that, in many respects, our attention to the environment during the past few years has had some beneficial effect.
All across the nation, species such as the alligator, the osprey and the seal, all of which were on the verge of extinction just a few years ago, have demonstrated a remarkable ability to recover when relieved of the pressure of environmental degradation. Yet now there are concerns that a healthier environment has set the stage for an unhealthy new conflict between humans and other species.
On the Pacific coast, seals and sea lions have undergone a dramatic population increase. This happy event has in turn stimulated an increase in the natural predator of these aquatic mammals, the great white shark. More sharks in the water are an obvious danger to surfers, who, dressed in rubbery black wetsuits, bear an unfortunate resemblance to the sharks’ favorite dinner.
In the west, herds of wild horses, which were reduced to a population of just a few thousand less than a decade ago, have now multiplied to a point where their overpopulation has raised alarm about the threat of permanent damage to the range, a situation inspiring one group of scientists to attempt to develop a birth-control formula for the stallions.
These isolated facts are not meant to suggest that ravenous sharks are about to start munching on the legs of unsuspecting bathers at Jones Beach, or that wild horse stampedes will begin to compete with commuter traffic for space on our parkways. For the most part, local conflict with the natural world is more annoying than dangerous.
Back in the suburban neighborhoods that surround all the great cities of the east, the annoyance might be with rose bushes. Or, more correctly, with the white-tailed deer that wander into people’s backyards to nibble on the tender buds of those rose bushes.
For many years deer, like so many other forms of wildlife, were forced to endure a continuous retreat in the face of an advancing onslaught of suburban development. But the pressure of shrinking habitat forced the deer to adapt by reasserting their presence in developed areas.
Deer in suburban environs are unlike their counterparts in wilderness areas. Suburban deer display strikingly different behavior patterns, not the least of which is a diminished wariness of humans. An adult deer can do an amazing amount of damage to a backyard garden in a surprisingly short time.
Other species, such as raccoon and opossum, have begun to reestablish themselves in suburban neighborhoods, a domain that humans generally regard as their own. Conflict is an inevitable result of the competition for space and food, and a raccoon or squirrel in the attic can give an unfortunate homeowner new respect for the old phrase “eaten out of house and home.”
In a twist of irony, which makes it almost seem as if nature is trying to exact a measure of revenge for past insults, the most perplexing version of this problem seems to be the experience of the nearly 200 sanctuaries for wildlife in Suffolk County. Several of these sanctuaries are the subject of research programs that are trying to determine, among other things, the best means of maintaining wildlife populations in suburban areas.
Four of the significant habitats found in these sanctuaries are brushland, open fields, salt marsh and woods, and these four distinct habitats are essential to attracting and supporting a wide variety of animal species. However, the effect of grazing by an expanded deer population has begun to hinder the efforts of researchers who are trying to maintain the balance between the different habitats that make each refuge attractive to deer as well as other animals in the first place.
It is a dilemma of no small consequence. Not only are deer causing significant damage to private property surrounding the wildlife sanctuaries, but also the increasing demand caused by deer browsing on each preserve threatens to permanently alter the character of the available habitat by destroying the brushland that is essential to a variety of other species. Without some form of population control, this problem will grow in severity because the large predators that would normally keep the whitetail in check are no longer present in a suburban setting.
However, what specific form of population control to use becomes a perplexing question for any organization that is in the business of offering sanctuary to wildlife. Obviously, the ultimate solution to this problem will, of necessity, be complex. At the same time, it is important that an acceptable solution be devised in the near future, so that the growing conflict between humans and suburban wildlife does not exceed the point of toleration for any species.
As wildlife researchers look for ways to deal with this problem, there is an encouraging aspect to consider. The expanding population of various forms of suburban wildlife is evidence that the general condition of the environment is now good enough to support them.
But more than any particular physical improvement, perhaps the most important change brought about by the environmental concern of the last two decades is one of awareness. A recognition by most people that the chain of life on this small planet is so intertwined and complex that to conquer and limit the natural world is to also conquer and limit our own destinies.
