Castaways
Careless love. First comes head-over-heels devotion of person to pet, followed by
disillusionment, hard reality, and let’s take the easy way out.
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fter adopting an animal and assuming responsibility for it, some owners renege on their promise.
Perhaps it’s a gosling that has grown up and turned snappish, or a backyard box turtle poorly protected from traffic on a busy street. Perhaps it’s an elementary school’s red-eared slider with no one to
care for it over summer, or a reassigned Kirtland officer who must find new quarters for his children’s
rabbits. It could be a beautiful corn snake that has outgrown its terrarium and the fascination of its teenage owner. Often, it’s a dog or cat allowed to wander and become pregnant.
Perceiving pets as possessions can render them disposable. Take the case of ducklings at Easter
time.
You bought an adorable pair of domestic Pekin ducklings as an Easter surprise for
your children. Now it’s midsummer: one duckling as died, its legs and neck broken
when no one realized how fragile duck bones are. Health of the other duckling has declined, due to the poor quality of its low protein pet store diet. Moreover, your surviving Donald Duck has begun to peck and pinch aggressively  and he poops everywhere! You’ve tried and failed to train him, learning too late that since ducks lack a
sphincter muscle, they can’t be trained. You’ve also learned that ducks can live for
up to 20 years.
Hey, you think, our Donald will be happier swimming in a big pond with other
ducks. We’ll put him in a lake, a stream, or maybe just drop him over the wall at the
Nature Center. Job done, duck and run, we’re outta here.
A good solution? Better think again.
ekin ducks, like Cayugas, Rouens, Khaki Campbells, Cresteds, and most other domestic breeds, are
derived from mallards. Bred for food, egg production, captive-friendly behavior traits, or for plumage prized at exhibitions, domestics may be friendly, noisy, small, or, most often, meaty and large. At
the same time, they’re naïve about predators in the wild  the coyotes, foxes, cats, and
feral dogs that will grab and kill in an instant. Odds are that your Donald will be dead
before his first birthday.
Well, what about putting a pet store duckling in a wild pond? Since it’s
still a baby and less used to humans than an adult duck, will it do better?
Mature waterfowl, both domestic and wild, have an oil gland at the
base of the tail for feather lubrication. The gland is non-functional in ducklings;
a mother duck in the wild preens and waterproofs her brood with oil from her
own gland, a service pet store ducklings don’t receive. One Easter, recalled Nature
Center superintendent Beth Dillingham, “I saw ducklings dumped at Tingley Beach.
They sank and drowned in an instant.”
“We’re trying to preserve natural ecosystems here,” she continued. “Exotic animals dumped on our grounds or in our ponds can outcompete native species  for instance, invasive bullfrogs versus native leopard frogs, or red-eared sliders of eastern New Mexico versus western
painted turtles. Plus,” she continued, “animals may introduce disease, like salmonella from reptiles
raised around humans. They can become aggressive, too.”
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Birds, Undeterred
Consider a recent case: a flock of turkeys dumped at the Nature Center this winter.
“We had two toms and three hens here,” recalled ranger Sarah Wood, “and we know they were
dumped. They looked wild but definitely were domesticated,” she continued. “They had no fear of humans and were aggressive to them. That’s dangerous for our visitors at a place as small as this.”
“Also, those turkeys would reproduce”, she noted: “the Corrales bosque already has a feral population,” a group of domesticated birds gone wild. “They’ll interbreed and hybridize with the desirable
wild turkeys there.” (See accompanying story about a scientifically designed reintroduction of a native
turkey subspecies to the wild.)
The city’s Animal Care Center trapped the Nature Center’s problem gobblers
and put them up for adoption.
lthough this turkey tale ended happily, a cruel end for abandoned animals is the more
likely consequence, even for animals that might survive in the fields, forests,
and gardens of the Nature Center. Odds are against them: a domesticated bunny
heaved over the bird blind will probably be grabbed by a coyote before nightfall.
If it sees sunrise, the bunny is a likely candidate for “flystrike,” a fatal infestation of
maggots laid by botflies. A Woodhouse toad, fed on calcium-deficient mealworms, will
be too weak to run from a hungry heron. And the abandoned budgie or parrot? It will die
from hypothermia in the below-freezing temperatures of an Albuquerque winter or
starve to death in other seasons of the year.
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The Catastrophe
There’s another all-too-common non-native predator, beloved by many and allowed to wander
and kill at will. Protected by traditions of human partiality, it’s a purring, leg-rubbing human companion that hunts under the radar: the domestic cat.
While there are some 77 million pet cats in the U. S., a 1997 survey showed that only 35%, or
some 500 million, are kept exclusively indoors. Couple that figure with the 60 to 100 million feral cats
abandoned by their owners or never owned by anybody, known to roam cities, suburbs, farmlands, and
natural areas like the Nature Center. You have described a cataclysm of death  millions of felines free
to kill birds and more than a billion small mammals, including rabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks, in the
U. S. each year. Birds snatched by cats include common species like jays, wrens, sparrows, warblers,
and hummingbirds as well as rarer species like Southwestern willow flycatchers, piping plovers, and
curve-billed thrashers. The predator is also the victim here: abandoned cats lead short, diseased, miserable lives, confirmed by cat skeletons frequently found at the Nature Center.
oted wildlife rehabilitator Anne Russell of Wildlife Rescue Inc. of New Mexico, “cat-caught” was
the most common cause of encounter for mammals and for both protected and non-protected birds
brought to the clinic in 2006. Fifty percent of birds with cat bites will die slowly and painfully, she
noted, even if the wound is no more than a tiny scrape. “Most of the time, it’s a puncture wound into the
body cavity,” said Russell. “It’s the bacteria Pasturella mulcocida in the cat’s mouth that kills.” Russell and other Wildlife Rescue rehabilitators estimate that domestic cats kill one million songbirds in the
Albuquerque area each year. Myths about feline behavior contribute to the
killing fields.
Although scientists know that a cat’s hunting instinct is independent
of its urge to eat, many cat owners find it hard to believe that their freeroaming, well-fed pet will eat his bowl of Fancy Feast, then go out and kill
birds. Owners also place too much trust in the bells they attach to their cat’s
collar; a cat quickly learns to stalk silently with a bird in its rangefinder, and
bells offer no protection to nestlings or fledglings. Owners also believe that
cat predation of rodents is invariably a good thing, although some species,
like the meadow jumping mouse, are listed as endangered in the state and
others, like the tawny-bellied cotton rat, are hanging on by a thread at the Nature Center. The preservation of native small mammal populations is vital for
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ecosystem health: rodents serve as seed dispersers, plant cultivators, and as prey for raptors such as
great-horned owls, redtails, and Cooper’s hawks.
Owners of cats allowed to wander and kill are in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act
which prohibits the hunting, taking, capturing, or killing of any migratory bird. Unvaccinated cats can
transmit diseases, such as rabies, to other cats, to native wildlife, and to humans; they are the domestic
animal most often reported to be rabid to the nation’s Centers for Disease Control.
Where to Turn
What’s pet owner to do? First, keep your pet cat indoors! Second, consider the long-tern needs
of any animal before you acquire it. Finally, contact a permitted caretaker about your problem or
“found” animal for advice or adoption. Here are some suggestions:
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Animal Humane Association: 255-5523. Accepts dogs and cats.

Cockatiels: Ron Howard, 899-5979 or cell 1-925-686-2350.
Will take in birds.

City of Albuquerque Animal Services: 331. Will rent traps and
pick up dogs, cats, geese, ducks, rabbits, coyotes, foxes, skunks, and
porcupines. Animal will be seen by a vet and adopted out if possible.
If ill or unadoptable, may be euthanized. Check petharbor.com where
citizens can post missing dog or cat notices and pictures.
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Coyote Lady: Susan Weiss, 898-6891. Advice on coyote habits
and on living with coyotes.

Four Corners Bunny Rescue, 896-3359, Rick and Nancy Haseman.
Domestic rabbits.
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Fur and Feathers: in Los Alamos, 662-6806; in Corrales, 328-2246.
Includes mammal rescue of llamas, wallabys.
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House Rabbit Society: Margo DeMello, [email protected].
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Manzano Pest Management: 220-2127. Humane trap and release.

New Mexico Animal Friends: 881-7297.
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New Mexico Bird Club: 232-8298. Budgies, finches, cockatiels,
exotics.

New Mexico Herpetological Society: Ted Brown 471-1230 in Santa
Fe or Scott Bulgrin 332-9672 in Albuquerque for advice on reptile
and amphibian care.

Kritter Gitters: In Albuquerque, 328-2246. In Los Alamos, 662-6806.
Will trap and move pesky animals (raccoons and others) for a fee.

Parrots and Exotic Birds: Bentley Dawson, 385-5707.

Rattlesnake Museum: Bob Myers, 242-6569. Advice regarding
venomous and non-venomous snakes as well as other reptiles
and amphibians.

Turtle and Tortoise Club: Sandi Jackson, 823-2294. Will take
indigenous and pet turtles and find new homes for them. One
club member is a water turtle specialist.

Wildlife Rescue Inc. of New Mexico: 344-2500. Will take in birds,
mammals (including bats), reptiles, and amphibians for rehabilitation
and possible release. Will answer wildlife questions (raccoons
in cabin, animal diets, animal care).
Sources: American Bird Conservancy, abcbirds.org; Anne Russell, Data Report, 2006: Wildlife Rescue
Inc. of New Mexico. February 2007, privately printed; Anne Russell, Raptors 1994-2003. Wildlife Rescue Inc. of New Mexico. December 2004 privately printed; personal communication with Anne Russell,
Beth Dillingham, Penny Elliston, and Sarah Wood.
Let’s Talk Turkey
Alien animals invading the wild: That dark story has a flip side.
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n 2004, wildlife biologists with Santa Ana Pueblo’s Department of Natural Resources, Range and
Wildlife Division, received a $210,000 grant from the U. S. and Wildlife Service to launch a wild
turkey reintroduction project on reservation lands, some 79,000 largely undeveloped acres in the upper
middle Rio Grande Valley, 20 miles north of Albuquerque. Merriam’s wild turkey was the chosen bird:
once native to the uplands, forests, agricultural fields, and riparian habitats of Santa Ana Reservation,
Meleagus gallopavo merriami had been extirpated from Pueblo lands some 40 years before. The wild
turkey is a missing link in the ecosystem and its web of life in the fields and forests of Santa Ana; it is a
valued but ghostly memory in the culture of its people.
In 2004, Santa Ana range and wildlife manager Glenn Harper and his crew trapped six Merriam’s turkeys on the Mescalero Apache Reservation in southeastern New Mexico, deploying a drop net
over a corn-baited feeding station, then covering the captured birds in the area with a tarp (“If the birds
can’t see the sky, they become calm and docile,” explained Harper.) Back at Santa Ana, the birds were
blessed by tribal elders; released, they flew into nearby cottonwoods.
Reintroductions continued in 2005 and 2006 when a
total of 58 turkeys were trapped at a private ranch in northeastern New Mexico and at other sites. All were legbanded and several received tracking devices for five-day-aweek monitoring: a neck or backpack VHF transmitter or a
GPS unit.
“We wanted to track the birds and learn about dispersal, preferred habitat, nesting areas, poult (turkey chick)
survival, and mortality,” noted Harper. As months passed
and seasons turned, Harper found that the information he
sought was flying in at a turkey trot.
“While most of the birds stayed close to their release
sites, some individuals ranged 30 miles up and down the
river,” reported Harper. “One wandered up to the Sandias,”
he added, gliding for brief spells turkey-style, but walking
most of the way on her long, forward-pointing toes. “She
raised poults there,” Harper continued, “and she’s still there
today, at four years old!” This hen’s a matriarch: average
life span for a wild turkey is two years.
Turkey in the Straw
Harper is pleased to see that his transplanted birds are behaving like their wild Merriam counterparts in the state. Santa Ana turkeys have occupied winter roosts through March, then paired up and
bred in the spring; hens have incubated and hatched their eggs, then caught invertebrates for their young
in summer. Scouting through agricultural fields and homing in on transmitter signals emanating from
shrubs, tall stands of grass, and litter piles in the bosque, Harper and his crew were able to monitor 16
well-camouflaged nests over the years  shallow depressions with a narrow opening at one end where
hen mothers led poults out to find insects. The observers found that 50% of monitored nests hatched at
least one poult (an average clutch is nine to twelve eggs), and 50% of the poult crop was able to avoid
predation by coyotes, foxes, and feral cats along with harsh weather conditions including dessication and
one torrential hailstorm.
“We’ve had 64 birds in three years,” he declared, “and we probably have 70 to 80 birds on the
reservation now. Emigration is helping restore turkeys in a 30-to-40 mile stretch of the river.” On the
reservation, managers are making their ancestral birds welcome by planting a variety of seed favorites:
silverleaf buffaloberry, wood rose, wild plum, Arizona grape, New Mexico olive, and others. Moreover, individual homeowners have chosen to include these turkey-enticing plants in their home gardens.
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hallenges remain.
“Predation by dogs and cats, habitat fragmentation, and the illegal release of farm-raised birds
into the bosque” were the principal areas of concern noted by range manager Harper. Farm-raised turkeys may look like wild birds, he said, but being domesticated, they’re habituated to people. Some individuals may be heavier, have shorter legs, odd colors, and fleshy heads  all characteristics that affect
survival. Domestics of all kinds may hybridize with wild birds and introduce disease. And behavio rally, these hens can’t pass on critical survival skills to their young.
New Mexico has three M. gallopavo subspecies of wild turkeys: a few Gould’s turkeys in the
Animas, San Luis, and Peloncillo Mountains of the extreme southwest, a FWS species of concern that is
listed as threatened in New Mexico; Rio Grande turkeys found along watercourses in the northeast and
introduced in the Albuquerque area; and Merriam’s, widely dispersed in mountainous regions of the
western and southern Rockies. Meriam’s wild turkeys are distinguished from others in the subspecies
trio by their larger size, a white band on the tail, and dark, rather than blue, heads.
e don’t want to lose the genetic variety and distinctiveness of the Merriam’s in our area,” Harper
declared. “If you have turkeys, keep them penned and don’t ever feed wild birds.”
“W
Source: Glenn Harper.