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Wildlife Issues

Living With Wildlife in Your Neighborhood

Here in Massachusetts there are many kinds of wildlife that thrive by living near people. Most of these are relatively common animals such as skunks, raccoons, gray fox, red fox, coyotes, wild turkey, fishers and more…

These animals are often attracted to human dominated landscapes because they are highly adaptable, opportunistic feeders that are energy efficient. By highly adaptable we mean that they can easily adjust to changes in their environment. Opportunistic feeders are animals that are generalists, eating a variety of plant and animal material including food often left out by people. These animals are energy efficient in that when given the choice between a meal that has to be chased or one that is easily found in a backyard, they will always pick the easy meal. Everything these animals do is related to food availability.

(from MA Department of Fisheries and Wildlife)