The Call of the Wild

UPDATIEST:

Our friends in the media did their part to raise awareness. Did that reporter actually say “no one has been harmed yet?” Am I dreaming? Check out the reports here and here: we expect something from the SF Chronicle tomorrow.

UPDATIER:

Friends at MDAS enlist support. Worth A Dam contacts media buddies to see if we can get news cameras on site. Lindsay Museum says they have offered alternatives and support, and have many volunteers who live there and are dismayed by the decision. Following letter sent to Rossmoor paper.

UPDATE:

Just found out Gary Bogue will be speaking next week at Rossmoor, maybe he can mention something about a more sensible woodpecker control plan? Also heard from Robert Carlton of the Rossmoor Nature Association, who said that this was being driven by a small group of residents who have pushed the board for this action, and not the management. He did say he reads this website daily and is a friend of the beavers. Lets hope our beavers can help his woodpeckers.

He was sounding the deeps of his nature, and of the parts of his nature that were deeper than he, going back into the womb of Time. Jack London

Every now and then I think of this quote when I hear the plaintive beaver vocalizations as they communicate to each other. Certainly it is nothing like Buck’s fierce, existential, howl, but it is an unmistakable portal into another world: a deeply social world in which the other is an extension of the self, and even isolation is commual. Sometimes when I hear it I feel like it claims me as a guardian, keeping watch over the beaver’s difficult lives because I can. Sometimes I just want to turn to the person nearest me and create a parallel sharing: “did you hear that?”. Always I am aware that it is rare and precious, eavesdropping on the call of the wild.

Yesterday I got an email from beaver friend CB who wrote sadly about the death of one of the two adult white Geese who have become Starbuck’s Sentinels. She compassionately wondered what would happen to the other goose, now that its mate was gone, and wondered whether something could be done to move it back to the duck pond. I replied that I thought this particular pair of geese had all the skills necessary to survive, and that even alone, the widow would find its way back to the crowd if that was the right thing for it to do. CB’s kind attention to the geese and the beavers is a touching reminder of our capacity to answer the call of the wild with our own voice of compassion.

I was wondereing if you knew about the demise of one of the white geese outside of Starbucks on Main st..While the remaining mate called greetings to us and ate moldy bread, surrounded by beer bottles and plastic cups, she drank from water slick with oil. And I’ve been worrying about whether she is safe there by herself, or may be better off trying to survive at the waterfront with the other geese.Of course, she could go there on her own, but this is her feeding spot that she’s been inhabiting for awhile.I guess I’m just afraid she will suffer a similar fate as her mate, and wish there was something I could do to help. They were a symbol to me of the burgeoning life the beavers brought to the creek, and brought more of a sense of community downtown, with children gathering to feed them and say hi, and people of all ages enjoying their presencse. We are also great lovers of the beavers and with the long summer days, it was easier to visit the geese on our downtown strolls, and swing by hoping to see the beavers if we were out late enough.One of my daughters first 30 words was BEAVERS! She has seen them and gets excited everytime we’re downtown hoping to see them. Now it will be easier with darkness falling so early. They came right around the same time we moved to Martinez, so they are somewhat of a personal icon for us, their babes coming around the same time mine did. I’m so happy they’re doing well and have new kits and have brought new life to the creek.They are a blessing to Martinez and I’m thankful to all who have helped them.

Sincerely, CB

Lastly a sad call to the wild from Rossmoor where they have received permission from Fish and Game to exterminate 50 Acorn Woodpeckers which are burying their favorite treasure in unwelcomed places. Exaggerated costs are being used to justify the killing. I have to wonder, does F&G ever say no? The shooting is slated to happen this week. Write your local paper to get the word out, give them a call at (925) 988-7682 and stop this slaughter, or get your video camera and see if you can get some images on you tube. I can imagine a sister “save the woodpecker” sight…maybe Worth A Nut?

[Comment From Molly Mullikin] We live in Rossmoor in Walnut Creek. They have obtained a permit from US Fish/Wildlife to shoot 50 acorn woodpeckers who are stashing their winter supply of acorns in some of the residences. I sent you 2 letters regarding this (at Susan Heckley’s suggestion of LWM) but you didn’t print them. We (some concerned Rossmoor residents) were hoping to elicit public outrage. How come you avoided the subject? Woodpeckers are due to be exterminated this week. So sad!!!!