August 02, 1990 - A Mysterious Visitor Comes NorthAugust 2, 1990 • The Suffolk Times C1 i
A Mysterious Visitor Comes'
North
By Paul Stoutenburah
When someone calls or asks a ques-
tion about a bird or a flower I am usu-
ally able to answer the inquiry satisfac-
torily; so when a neighbor asked about
an animal seen on a friend's lawn this
week I thought I'd have no trouble iden-
tifying it. After all, there can only be a
small number of animals that fall in the
category of one that eats grass on the
front lawn: A rabbit — but then every-
body knows a rabbit. A muskrat — I've
seen them eating grass on lawns near
the water. A squirrel — even though it
doesn't eat grass it might look like it's
eating as it digs for a buried nut. How
about a woodchuck? Ali, yes, that's
probably what it was.
We still have some isolated spots on
both the North and South shores where
you can find woodchucks and its color
was right — sort of brownish. But then
my neighbor threw me a curve as she
explained, "It was as big as a pig and
weighed probably 40 pounds or more."
"Now hold on there. There just isn't
anything like that around our part of the
world," I said.
"Oh yes," came the reply, "and I can
show you for our friends took a picture
of it." Within five minutes I was look-
ing at a photograph of the oddest -look-
ing animal you can imagine. I seem to
remember seeing something like it in a
book or perhaps on one of the TV na-
ture programs. I asked again, "You're
not pulling my leg, are you ?" "No." As
a matter of fact, my good neighbor even
suggested setting up a time to see this
strange creature on her friend's front
lawn.
Not North American
In the meantime, I went back to my
library, which is mostly concerned with
local fauna and flora, to see if I'd over-
looked something in my recollections.
But no, there was nothing there in my
North American books. How about an
exotic? Oftentimes people keep exotic
pets taken from foreign countries only
to find them a chore and tire of them.
The result, which I consider woefully
wrong, is that they turn them loose in
the wild with no thought of their sur-
vival. Or perhaps it might just have
•• •••••••••••••••••
Catch Southold ;
on the Upbeat
The Suffolk Times:
....................
Focus on
Nature
been a pet that escaped from its owner
as birds often do and was now roaming
free over the countryside.
It didn't take me long to find my
mysterious wanderer. It proved to be a
capybara (kap -ih- BAH -ruh). I was right.
It wasn't from North America, although
in prehistoric times we found it roamed
most of the southern United States. To-
day its home is in Panama and South
America.
It's the largest member of the rodent
family in the world, growing to the
length of three feet and sometimes
reaching as much as 80 -100 pounds. In
its native habitat it's often found along
river and lake banks where it is hunted
by natives with dogs. It often takes to
the water, being an expert swimmer
with its odd partially webbed feet.
(Hence its native name: water pig.) Be-
sides human beings and dogs, the jaguar
favors capybara as its main food.
I was told by my neighbors that it
usually appeared between three and five
and sure enough that very day I received
a telephone call at 3:30. My neighbor
said, "If you want to see him, follow
me." Barbara and I were off in a flash
and within five minutes arrived at the
side of a beautiful home with swim-
ming pool and all. We were greeted by
the finder of the capybara and on
tiptoes, with hushed voices, we all
walked up the winding steps to the
neatly kept, rolling lawn.
Sure enough, as true as the picture,
there it stood! We couldn't believe our
eyes. We were told it had been around
for about a week and was once seen over
a half -mile away. Now it comes almost
like clockwork around three each day to
munch on the lush lawn like some
oversized rabbit without big ears. Its
brown coarse hair looked in good shape
and I was told you could walk up to
within 20 feet of it.
It seemed almost tame, which rein-
forced my belief that it was someone's
pet at one time. We all just stood there
and stared. "How did it get here ?" "What
will happen to it ?" "Will dogs run it
down ?" "If it lives, how will a tropical
animal survive during our winter
months ?" These are the questions we're
going to have to cope with in the near
future. Until then, who knows what
might show up in your back yard?
Before I end this article I'd like to re-
9
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STRANGER ON THE LAWN —Would you be surprised to look out and
see this stranger nibbling your lawn? How it got here and what its future
will be is a mystery.
view one or two things that have been
on the minds of many of my readers and
that is what to do with a baby bud or
animal should you come across one. It's
quite simple. The cardinal rule is,
"Leave it where it is or at the most
move it to a safe place should you think
it would come to harm." Remember,
rabbits are usually only around at night
so they'll not be around during the day
to take care of their young. Should you
feel the baby rabbit is in danger, cover
it with a box or garbage pail until
evening when the mother would return.
Buds, if possible, should be put back
in the nest if you can find it.
Oftentimes they tumble out or, if sick
and weak, have actually been discarded
by the parents. This might seem rather
cruel but remember nature has no time
for the disadvantaged. If no nest is
about, put it on a limb of a low shrub
or tree, high enough to be away from
cats and dogs. Remember you are no
match when it comes to taking care of
nature's young. It's a lot of work and
most often is not successful. There are
few occasions when feeding is necessary
but that is in very rare situations. In
general, nature does a pretty good job of
taking care of its own, so let's give it a
chance.
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