Quail, Bunnies and Javelina

Just after first light, as I open the blind, I see an animal out beyond the cactus. The way it leaps through the air as it runs, it might be the bobcat I was told had three kittens here this winter. If so, she is going home to the wash after perhaps a night of hunting. Her hoped for meal would be the birds and bunnies I see every day at the quail block. I guess I am helping her as well as them, but the thought is a little unpleasant.

I wrote about this last year as the desert always reminds me of the relationship between Predator or Prey. It is all part of nature but still hard to accept as not being harsh and cruel. It makes me think of the scene in the movie, Madagascar, where the zoo raised animals come to see the reality of what the wild actually means.

Sometimes I see coyotes at our little watering pool (created by a prior owner but maintained by us whenever we can keep the water running). I like to have a source of water that protects the small ones from going to the swimming pool to get their drink and drowning. I also enjoy seeing the animals use it. This morning when I went outside to put the seed block back on the ground (didn't want the javelina devouring it all at night), I interrupted a bird bath and early breakfast with a mix of bunnies and many types of birds. It sounded and looked like a scene from a Disney movie.

At the seed block, I watch many types of birds, rodents, rabbits, and lizards all coming most of the time peacefully to find seeds that suit them. The desert, however, is a harsh land, and even within animals of the same species there are pecking orders and angry disagreements as one chases another off.

Desert Cottontails seem so gentle, the very example of peace loving animals, but in reality rabbits can be vicious and you see it on some of their faces as you take time to watch them interact with each other. Joey chases off Fuzzy (no I don't recognize them all by now but it's an easier way to write this). Jessie waits until they have all finished to enter the dining room. Sam decides to take a chance and is beaten down. Some bunnies can eat together but not others.

What caused Flopsy to have one ear turn down? Was it birth defect, fight in the warren, a near miss with a hawk, coyote, javelina or the bobcat? Or can she sometimes put it up if she chooses? After what looked like some dominant rabbit displeasure, Flopsy was approved it eat at the block.

On another day, I saw a disagreement begin at the seed block. Brutus, who looked to be older and tougher, took offense at Carl daring to come to feed. Brutus may or may not already know how this works in nature. Perhaps at one time, he was the young one who overtook an older one. He won't let that happen any sooner than he must; so he scares off potential competition while he still can.

Carl, perhaps not quite aware of the rules, appeared to hope to get breakfast and avoid trouble. The action then came so fast that all I was able to shoot were blurred photos as Brutus chased and took down Carl. I debated a bit, could it be mating-- animals have odd mating behaviors sometimes, but no, this was for blood.

Great wildlife observer that I am, I didn't want one rabbit to be badly hurt; so compromised-- got three quick photos, then broke it up. When all three shots ended up out of focus, I regretted my humanitarian impulse. Of course, since I brought the temptation into the yard, I have to have some responsibility for the fight-- not that it couldn't happen anyway over females, warrens, or territory (Ever read Watership Down by Richard Adams?).

We humans like to see ourselves as the superior animals, but in reality, a lot of our natural instincts are animal; and we, through religions, socialization training, sometimes suppress them-- and sometimes not.

The Gambel's Quail come most often in pairs although sometimes coveys. They are flighty, watch all the time, but still squabble over who gets to eat at the same time just like the other animals. They don't go for blood though in those squabbles. The most fun has been the years when they would come with a bunch of babies trailing behind except day after day there would be fewer of the little ones who were as yet unable to get up in a tree at night hence made a meal for a snake or other roaming predators.

Javelina, (pronounced have-uh-leena), also known as collared peccary, are biologically not considered to be pigs though they look like little pigs. In Arizona there is a hunting season for them (they average 30-60 lbs and stand 20" to 24" tall). A friend of mine, who is a hunter, told me that they taste like pork.

Javelina are not gentle. With their tusks, when they get the chance, they kill small animals and can rip open a human's leg (and will if startled). I treat them with some caution but do chase them off because they would sit at the quail block all day and keep away everything else. Eventually, I even resorted to an un-animal-loving thing and threw a rock toward them when my voice alone wouldn't do it. They were soon back. I don't mind their visits. I do mind them moving in because where they are, all other animals avoid.

This year I got many good shots of the javelina thanks to the telephoto. When I later looked at one such close-up, I noticed what looked like blood under its jaw. Possibly it had come across the kill of that bobcat, fought with another peccary, or perhaps one of the quail or bunnies ventured too close. Javelina can be very fast when they want to be.

Javelina would visit here whether there was a seed block or not as they eat our prickly pear cactus. Going outside in the morning I'll see bits dropped by the front door. All the cactus show big bite marks. Some people down here throw out scraps of food for them. Not smart given their nature, and I am looking for a bird feeder for the quail that will keep javelina from the block. Unfortunately that would also block the bunnies, but feeding any desert animal is probably a mistake as their numbers stay in balance when they have to manage on what the desert supplies for food. It's not an easy life.

I justify my interfering in their natural food chain by my pleasure in seeing them find food so easily, watching their joy in the bounty that is for awhile makes their life easier (?). I can't do it all the time, as I am not here, and that's probably good as it would upset the natural balance-- or would it increase the numbers of bobcats, coyotes and javelina? Having the seed block allows me to spy on their community in a way I would not be able to do any other way. Spider Woman seems to approve or at least she hasn't said quit it-- yet.

(I had sculpted Spider Woman in Oregon before we had this desert house. As soon as we had bought it, we knew she belonged here. She got her name from the Navajo traditions but also because one time I moved her to clean the pool and out from under ran an angry tarantula. I quickly put her back where she had been, not sure if that appeased the tarantula.

The problem with this post was too many photos and difficult to narrow it down to give a taste of what I see when I have time to spend, as I did this last trip, time to just be and observe.)