Counting birds turns into walk on Wilds site
As I have done for the past decade, I participated in the Chandlersville Christmas Bird Count at the Wilds in Muskingum County.
The Wilds is a 9,000-plus-acre animal conservation and research facility, and visits there are always interesting.
The Wilds sits on reclaimed strip-mine land, and the vast grassy expanses with scattered corpses of trees resemble an African savanna. We always find notable birds, and the region is especially known for its wintering raptors.
Our survey crew found American kestrels; northern harriers; and red-tailed, red-shouldered, rough-legged and sharp-shinned hawks. Missing were golden eagles. One or two of these enormous birds overwinters annually, but finding them in the vast landscape is hit or miss.
My assigned bird-count area included the fenced confines of the Wilds. My escort the past several years has been Stephen Spear, director of wildlife ecology. The facility is closed for the season, except for pre-arranged trips, but Spear can get us nearly anywhere.
The ponds, meadows and woodlots of the Wilds produced a nice list of birds. Spicing the observations and often stealing the show were the mammals.
The Wilds maintains several dozen species of mammals, many of which are rare in their native ranges. Large herds of free-ranging bison conjure
visions of the western Great Plains. A crowd-pleaser is the Sichuan takin, which resemble muskox but are relatives of goats.
Strange, distant shapes transform into humped Bactrian camels. Persian onagers — a wild ass — and Przewalski’s horses wander nearby. The former is indigenous to Iran, and the horse is native to the steppes of central Asia. Both are imperiled in the wild.
I was especially excited to census the area of the Carnivore Center. As we neared its stout fencing,
I saw a cheetah ambling through the grasses. Upon arrival, we mounted the elevated decking and were treated to the spectacle of a small pack of dholes loafing about. These canines resemble a cross between a coyote and fox, and hail from Asia.
Suddenly, African painted dogs tumbled out of their shelters and commenced enthusiastic play-fighting. Yes! This was the mammal I most hoped to see, and they were a major perk of our “bird” survey.
An African painted dog is art on paws. The pelage is a patchwork of ebony, ochre and white splotches. The breast and face is black, as if the animal fell face-first into a tub of ink. Most amazing are the enormous round ears. Painted dogs don’t miss a peep, and my soft whistles quickly had a dozen pairs of Dumbo-like ears twitching in my direction.
Highly intelligent, African painted dogs have sophisticated hierarchies. Each group has a dominant male and female who ride herd over the pack. In their indigenous range, wild dogs specialize in hunting antelopes. This challenging and well-orchestrated teamwork allows the dogs to ably pursue, tire and eventually take the prey.
As with many apex predators the world over, African painted dogs are in major decline. Although they once occurred throughout much of Africa, their range has been greatly reduced. Only a few thousand remain in the wild, in widely scattered populations. The International Union for Conservation of Nature listed this species as endangered in 2016.
Experts at the Wilds have successfully bred most of the imperiled mammal species in their charge. In the process, they’ve uncovered biological information that is helping with conservation and restoration of wild animal populations. This massive, open-air research park represents the finest of our zoos.
I would highly encourage visiting the Wilds. No trip is ever boring, and it’s an excellent opportunity to see and learn about a host of amazing animals and what is being done to protect them. Public access is available from May through October, but special “Wildside” tours can be arranged the rest of the year.
For more information, visit thewilds.columbuszoo. org/home.
Naturalist Jim Mccormac writes a column for The Dispatch on the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month. He also writes about nature at www.jimmccormac. blogspot.com.