You’re not alone in your neighbourhood. Suburban wildlife is part and parcel of living where you do. Here’s how to live harmoniously with the creatures and animals who also call your suburb home.
Eco estate living
It’s particularly true if you’ve chosen to live your dream life in an eco estate: you are not alone in your neighbourhood. Suburban wildlife are often an attractive feature when choosing to live in a neighbourhood that’s committed to preserving the environment. Moreover, as the demand for development that makes a conscious effort to preserve the environment and create sustainable living opportunities for both people and wildlife, your dream home may include a few surprise guests.
Live with respect
Managing suburban wildlife, however, is not always as pleasant an experience as you may think. As suburban development has taken over so much natural habitat for suburban wildlife, incidents where food is stolen out of kitchens, or surprise snake bites appear to have increased. But, if you’re going to live in a suburb, you have to accept your wildlife neighbours too.
They lived here first
Many tales of people shooting pellet guns to chase off vervet monkeys, or purposefully harming wild animals because they’re ‘inconvenient’ have led me to write this piece. The suburban wildlife who visit your garden, and may pop into your home, lived here long before you did: treat them with the respect they deserve. And truly, they deserve all of our respect. Notably too, many of the suburban wildlife species you find in your neighbourhood are protected species. As protected species, they are protected by law from being harmed or killed.
Your swimming pool is now a hotel
Friends of mine had his swimming pool taken over during the colder months, as a family of Egyptian Geese chose their sparkling blue oasis as their home. While the goslings grew up and learnt to fly, the swimming pool and garden turned into a goose playground, and he had to make the choice between trying to relocate them, or just letting it happen. Of course, they’re my friends, so they let it happen. They were indeed lucky enough to be ‘chosen’ by this flock and got to witness the wonder of goslings learning to fly, up close. If your sparkling suburban pool does indeed get chosen, and you have cats and dogs at home, you may want to relocate the flock. If that’s the case, you should:
- Summon the experts: Call your local wildlife rehabilitation centre. They are best suited to advise you on what to do, how to manage the flock, and ensure they are safe.
- Take their advice: Work with them to help capture the flock safely, so that they may be easily relocated.
- Keep your pets indoors: If you do have other pets and are concerned about any unfortunate incidents, keep your pets indoors until the flock has been relocated.
- Reconsider, if you can: If it is possible for your garden and sparkling swimming pool to offer a flock safe haven for a few weeks, reconsider your need to relocate the flock.
Monkeying around
If you, like me, hide the fruit bowl in your microwave as a matter of habit, you probably live in Durban. Vervet Monkey troops are a common suburban wildlife sight throughout the city, and somehow, despite decades of development, they’ve managed to survive. Vervet Monkeys are some of the most misunderstood suburban wildlife creatures. Monkey Helpline, an active and hugely necessary organisation based in KwaZulu-Natal, provides not only educational resources around sharing your suburb with Vervet Monkeys, but also provides rescue and rehabilitation services. Despite what anyone may believe, discharging a firearm or any weapon to disperse animals like Vervet Monkeys, Mongooses, or similar, is illegal in terms of many cities’ bylaws. Ultimately, the lesson is: don’t shoot animals, ever. If you need help and guidance in learning how to manage living with Vervet Monkeys in your suburb, we recommend contacting Monkey Helpline for assistance, or visit their website. Alternatively, call your local wildlife rehabilitation or rescue centre for their advice. If you’re concerned about monkeys entering your home, make sure you lock up when you need to, or install monkey-proof screens on your windows.
Mongoose madness
A mongoose troop is a blessing you didn’t know you needed. They appear to be cute and fluffy little members of the suburban wildlife population, but they’re actually feisty and fearsome creatures. A mongoose troop that migrates around your suburb is a sign that you won’t really need to worry about mice, rats, and snakes around your home all too often. As they move around your neighbourhood, the mongoose troop will take care of those for you. Mongooses (and yes, that’s correct!) are omnivores, so live quite easily on a diet typical of suburban wildlife. If you see them, smile, and let them be.
A croak in the night
Frogs are another common addition to the suburban evening soundtrack. While this member of the suburban wildlife population can be noisy, they’re usually not much of a bother to you in your home. If a frog does hop into your home one evening, we recommend: - Helping him hop: Use a soft broom to gently guide the frog into a bucket, and relocate your new friend outside. - Assessing your garden: You may need to cut your grass more often, or get rid of any moist patches of soil, ponds, or other water sources. Frogs always live near a water source, so if you’ve got one, you’ll get at least a few free frogs.
Hissing around the house
Snakes aren’t the greatest surprise to find in and around your home, and it’s always better to err on the side of caution when it comes to them. Although many species of snake are absolutely harmless, if you don’t know how to deal with them, rather call in the experts.
For more advice on how to live in harmony with suburban wildlife, we recommend visiting our Advice Centre or getting in touch with your local wildlife rehabilitation centre.