Forgotten Desert
Rising consciousness of San Diego's desert, and the animals we live with
By Maria Cortez-Bruno
By Maria Cortez-Bruno
When you picture San Diego, what do you see? Probably the beach, or Comic-Con, something that you have seen in the news most likely. But what people usually disregard, are the animals we share our fine city with. San Diego has over 200 species of animals and plants in peril, due to climate problems and development. Yet, most people won’t notice these seemingly invisible perils. However, they will notice when a critter ends up in their backyard. San Diego is home to the coyote, the biggest predator in the neighboring valleys. We don't see them too often in their natural habitats, but when we do they are in the neighborhoods hoping to get some easy food. Numbers of coyote visits are at its highest peak this year, and people are not happy to see that their trash cans have been dug through. The reasons for the coyotes visits aren’t solely just for food, some of them may have lost their home or the weather become unbearably dry. All of these reasons directly applies to us -- humans.
Global warming and development are two of the biggest reasons why resources have been depleted for animals like the coyote, forcing them into human-inhabited areas. In recent years, the weather in San Diego has been changing along with the growing city. The cause of the climate changes are the same ones happening to the rest of the world. Global warming is now more clear than ever. The physical changes have caused people to realize that it is actually happening, and they are frightened. It is something we knew that was happening, but we never took responsibility for it, until recently. We are reacting to the situation instead of being proactive. Coyotes, mice, skunks and hawks are usually not wanted in residential areas. Surprisingly, all of these animals are very common in most of the neighborhoods in San Diego. These animals have very keen senses and can smell or see prey from far away. Since the city of San Diego has been creating more and more space for new development projects, wildlands have been declining. If the animals don’t have enough space to live in, they are forced out of their natural habitats and come to live in residential areas. For example, rats and mice are more inclined to live in residential areas because these places provide food, shelter, and water. Places that have small rodents in sight are likely to attract a hungry falcon who will prey not only on the animals we consider pests, but also on our pets. There have been reports of falcons attacking pet birds, and even small dogs. Having pets is a big risk factor in attracting these wild predators. Darlene Luckins, a San Diego nature examiner and photographer, has written an article specifying the things people should do if you encounter or see a wild animal in your neighborhood. The first thing you should do if you see a wild animal is to keep your distance from the animal and never get friendly towards it. If you encounter a coyote, you can make noise or do something to scare it off to preserve their natural fear towards people. If the animal displays any aggressive behavior go indoors and call animal control immediately. For the safety of your pets it is recommended you take food and water dishes inside where other animals can’t get to it. Follow her advice and make your home and neighborhood a little safer. Despite of all the the palm trees and other vegetation planted in the city of San Diego, let's not forget that it is also a desert, and many of this lush vegetation is non-native and irrigated with water imported from far away places; like the Colorado River. From the freeways we can observe all the buildings, homes and parks we’ve made, and the available space. There open spaces don't appear to have much on them except for a small desert shrub here and there, but these places are where the wild animals habitats are located. Notice how small they are compared to the spaces we have? That is one of the reasons why animals now will prefer to move out. According to an article on The Desert Sun called “Struggle for survival,” climate change is the culprit for the declining numbers of native desert animals. Researcher Mickey Agha describes a walk through the square mile long research plot to look for desert tortoises. During the walk, Agha sees only 14 living tortoises in the research plot. Compared to the average of 43 tortoises seen per visit at the research plot back in 1978, something has clearly gone wrong. There were 64 dead tortoises seen on the plot, Agha finds that most have either died from dehydration or starvation. It is no surprise that droughts in California has caused this decline in survival. The drought has not allowed the desert plants to grow. There isn't enough food in the desert to sustain many of these animals.
The desert has always been a hot and dry place, but it has gone to an extreme to where the animals who are adapted to the desert, cannot live in their own natural habitat. The drought has affected other animals such as the Coachella valley fringe-toed lizard, which live in the soft sands of the desert. A scientist estimates that if the drought persists for up to five more years, 97% of the population of those lizards will be wiped out. Insects such as the Coachella Valley Jerusalem cricket once native to the area, have almost died out in the area. Desert birds are moving to higher elevations on the desert, but even with the birds gone, the insects struggle with the weather and move to other places. In a recent National Climate Assessment report, scientist estimate that temperatures could rise from 5.5-9.5 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century if the amount of carbon waste increases. If the current trends continue, by 2050 we would have lost 6% of the entire lizard population, and by 2080 we would have lost 20% of the lizard population. This is what many biologists predict is going to be the 6th mass extinction on earth, the fastest and the most disastrous since the extinction of dinosaurs. This is why water conservation is always being enforced in San Diego, but sadly, it is only noticed when it is too late. But there is always room to improve and always hope for the earth and the animals we live with here in San Diego. San Diego has many animal conservation centers such as, Project Wildlife, The San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, Santa Ysabel Open Space Preserve, Silverwood Wildlife Sanctuary, and Tijuana Estuary, that help encourage the public to conserve and protect. These places are reserved for educational and conservative purposes. Many volunteers help by planting trees and other plants, and record what happens to the wildlife in the area. Places like Project Wildlife, are organizations made to help wild animals that have been hurt or sick. They provide rehabilitation programs for these animals and are eventually released back near where they were first found. San Diego also has many recreational parks such as Chollas Lake. Many nature trails, science centers, museums, and much more. Many public events are also scheduled to help spread awareness of our environment and animals. Having gone to one of these events myself, I can say it does help us understand and be more aware that we need to use every source usefully. I had gone to a nature walk, where we were shown plants and some bird species that are native to San Diego. The plants that were there did not need so much water, and the only plants that were dying were the ones that were not native to San Diego. So why grow them here at all when the natural beauty of San Diego’s desert biome provides already what animals need to survive? I believe that someday we wont have to worry about all the changes that are happening to us. Because they would have already been solved by the people who finally realized that it is us that needs to change. |