Animals are Part of Life in the Caldera

Last Friday I received a late night text from a friend whose rental cabin is near our home. The message read,” How on earth do you catch a squirrel in a cabin? Our renters are staying in the cabin from hell, they came home tonight to destruction in the cabin. We are coming up tomorrow but I am clueless as to what to do. What a nightmare!”

I was still up and responded that I had a couple of live traps and would be more than happy to set them for her. She replied a short time later that the bushy-tailed perpetrator could not be found and that it would wait until tomorrow. In the morning I dropped in on her renters and scouted out the situation. It appeared that the rodent had found his way out on his own but I set a trap to be safe. The vacationers seemed to have taken the incident in stride, a colorful incident that added to their adventure.

Living in the caldera is about coexisting with all its inhabitants. Here we are the minority, the visitors. It is impossible to control the wildlife’s comings and goings. One tries to minimize any negative interactions but they will happen. One simply smiles and accepts that our neighbors occasionally drop in and make themselves at home.

A few years ago a Forest Service employee told me that a summer renter called to advise that one of “their” moose had gotten out and was in the renter’s yard. The caller’s expectation was that there was some animal control person who would respond to collect the moose and return it to its pen.  Some consider the four-legged residents a nuisance when they appear unexpectedly. To the residents of Island Park, it is the unexpected encounters that bring the most joy. Being within an animal’s intimate environment and watching its unguarded behavior is always a real treat! Enjoy Yellowstone Country for what it is. It is wonderful!

I never did catch that squirrel.