wildlife can be, well, wild<\/a>.<\/p>\nDucks are docile on the nest, but Canada geese and swans can be aggressive, said John Coluccy, of the conservation group Ducks Unlimited. A goose can knock a person to ground and hit them hard enough to break a bone, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re very, very aggressive. They\u2019re long-lived and they protect their reproductive investment very vigorously,\u201d Coluccy said.<\/p>\n
Quillian noted that in parts of the West, people may encounter elk calves, usually in forested and coastal areas, but possibly even near homes. Elk can weigh 500 pounds (225 kilograms) or more, and cow elk also are incredibly protective of their young.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to see wildlife, to get that opportunity, but we have to give them distance, respect their space, especially when they have young,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In Florida, alligators breed and nest from April to June. Female alligators often build nests that resemble piles of leaves, near ponds, retention basins and ditches. They aggressively guard their nests, often while hiding in water nearby, said North Florida Wildlife Center Animal Care Manager Darian Dowse.<\/p>\n
The key is to keep your distance from mounds of leaves and to keep dogs on sidewalks, away from shorelines. <\/p>\n
People with concerns about nests should call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Dowse said.<\/p>\n
Dealing with problems<\/p>\n
Sometimes animals like raccoons, squirrels or foxes will hole up with their young in spots that just don\u2019t work, such as in a covered boat.<\/p>\n
One solution that doesn\u2019t rely on live traps or hiring a pest control service is to install a shop lamp to flood the area with light, said Tami Vogel, executive director of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota. A mom will usually move her young within a couple days.<\/p>\n
People can also install metal mesh to close off sheds and decks, she said. <\/p>\n
Vogel said center staff try to educate people about their options.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want them to know we\u2019re here as a safety net and what to look for if something goes wrong, and then the good news is, two weeks later, their neighbor may have a similar situation and they can pass along that information,\u201d Vogel said.<\/p>\n
What about pets?<\/p>\n
Dogs and cats are predators, so the key is to keep them close.<\/p>\n
For Deal in Minnesota, a big concern for Martha\u2019s safety revolved around her family\u2019s dog, Piper, who loves to chase animals.<\/p>\n
Deal said the family made sure to keep Piper on a leash, and Martha didn\u2019t seem to mind.<\/p>\n
Rabbits are incredibly prolific in the Midwest and are one of the most common subjects of calls to the Minnesota center, in part because they nest in yards, Yohannes said.<\/p>\n
The center recommends placing a laundry basket over a nest during the day to keep dogs away, and removing it near evening so the mother can to tend to her young.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the best pieces of advice I can give is just understanding that that period of coexisting with this nest or this family will be temporary,\u201d Yohannes said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For four years, a mallard has nested behind a bush near the front door of Caitlin Deal\u2019s home…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":644459,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[2837,27299,240044,49,240045,48,2848,2847,17612,8638,6388,2841,240046,890,2598,8931,66,2845,323],"class_list":["post-644458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-animals","tag-be-well","tag-beth-quillian","tag-ca","tag-caitlin-deal","tag-canada","tag-climate","tag-climate-and-environment","tag-deer","tag-fl-state-wire","tag-florida","tag-general-news","tag-john-coluccy","tag-lifestyle","tag-minnesota","tag-mn-state-wire","tag-science","tag-u-s-news","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=644458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/644459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=644458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=644458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=644458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}