A lot of people have asked me why I let the animals go after I catch them in the traps, knowing that they could come back and kill my chickens and ducks. Well it's like this:  I used to relocate all the ground hogs, also known as wood chucks, ground beaver, and whistle pigs, two miles from my home. They would eat and dig up my gardens something fierce. One day, shortly after the internet became a household phenomenon, I did some reading about them. Most groundhogs die after being relocated. They wind up spending all their energy trying to make a new home, and do not have enough time to fatten back up for the winter. At that time, I built better garden beds with some old wood and fencing. I have never had another ground hog in my garden, except once when I left the door open for an entire weekend when I was away at work.  Everyone needs to eat. And they find plenty for themselves where ever they can. Just not my gardens. It's the same with all the other animals. They don't know any better, they just do what is natural. When I get a chance to rebuild my run,( I'm gonna use the wood from the old deck), my birds will be safe again. My flock free ranges at least five days a week. Different days, and I let them out after lunch, and they are usually in an hour before dark. The Hawks  have usually eaten by then, and the fox, raccoon,skunk, and opossum, are just waking up to begin their nightly hunt for food.  They all serve a purpose in our ecosystem, and I try my best, even though I fall far short, to leave the smallest footprint I  can. I was fishing out on the Delaware River, and it was the most calm and peaceful  evening I ever  remember. The sky was beginning to fade from bright sunny blue, to that dim grey hazy look we get as dusk settles over the land. The sun had just set behind the mountains on the Pennsylvania side of the river, and the wind was calm. It was very early in the summer, and it was already very warm outside. I watched as a White headed Bald Eagle, flew low across the water. Suddenly, he dipped his talons just into the water and began to fly upward again. As he flew toward the New Jersey side of the river, I noticed he had caught a very nice trout. My guess would be about three pounds, and twenty one inches long. I, by the way, had caught nothing thus far. Not even a nibble.  The eagle landed and began to eat his catch. I watch as another eagle, this one all brown, I thought  the female, but have since learned it was a juvenile, came flying along the shore line, and landed near him. I guess they were going to share, but that is just my assumption, as they became hidden by some high grass. Suddenly, my pole got a bump. Just a tiny hit, but at least there was something interested in my bait. It must not have liked it lol, for it went quiet again. I heard a duck quacking, and looked upstream to where I heard it. I was a mother duck, with four little baby chicks in tow. As I have my own ducks, I loved seeing this little family swimming together and playing in the water having fun.  I couldn't believe my eye's when out from the deep, a fish sprung up out of the water grabbing the third duckling in the line, and splashing back down disappearing into the abyss. The mamma duck did a very fast turn, and wings flapping hard, got right in front of number four. Hurriedly she paddled up past the other two and all three were now behind her. She darted right toward the shoreline, and up and out of the water onto dry land they went. Funny thing is, the fox, raccoons, etc, are on land hunting for dinner, or I guess you could say breakfast. I did not notice a bolt of lightning aiming at the fish. I'm sure there is a bigger fish he has to worry about . I felt sad for the ducks, but this is what nature is all about.  Should I have intervened? Not a chance. I did however, intervene once at a party at my brothers house. There was a small snake that had hold of a really big toad. Everyone was watching from the deck. The snake was try to open his jaw all the way to suck in the toad. He had it sideways, and it was never going to happen. I feeling bad for the toad, went down and scared the snake away. He gave up easy and slithered back into the rock wall. About fifteen minutes later, the snake again had the same old toad struggling to get it in. Some things are just meant to be. I for one, just opt to stay better informed as to the eating habits of other creatures around and protect my animals in the most Eco friendly way I can. Don't get me wrong though, if a bear, a coon, or what have you, is destroying  a pen to kill my animals, they will be dealt with a bit more harshly.  But it appears around here, that they do not much bother trying to work that hard for a meal.  BOOM zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. My pole bent nearly in half almost coming out of my hand. I was still looking at the ducks daydreaming. The drag was set a bit low and the line was going out fast. The fish took the bait and was rushing upstream. I had a bell anchor on the canoe and it must have slipped off the rocks on the bottom, because as I tightened the drag, the entire canoe was being pulled across the river and upstream.  I was using a good 15 lb test braided spider wire line. I used to use eight lb test line, but I would lose some of these big fish that navigate the deeper water.  The water lever was a bit low and the current was not as strong as usual, but even so this guy was strong. I reeled and reeled and the fish tugged and pulled harder and harder, dragging out the line almost as fast as I reeled it in. After about ten minutes or so, I began to win. I could feel him going deeper the closer he got. I was afraid of him getting the line tangled on the anchor hanging unsecured deep down in the murky dept. I finally had him close to the top, when he made a last ditch effort and dove fast and hard and deep pulling the drag which I had tightened about four times already. I tightened it again, and reeled him in. He was the best fighter I have ever caught in the river. As he came to the surface I got my first good look. It was a monster channel cat. It took me a couple more minutes to get him into the net, and a couple more to boat him. I was shaking all over. When I finally got him into the canoe, and he was laying on the floor at my feet, I swear he was looking into my eyes. This old boy did a great job trying to protect himself. If you have ever caught a big catfish, you know that sound they make.  As I took the hook out from his lip, he just growled at me. He was about thirty two inches long and maybe fourteen pounds. I looked him right in the eyes and lowered him back into the water. With a flip of that big strong tail, he was gone.  It was dark now. I pulled the anchor in, by the way I now have an anchor with hooks, lol, and headed to the landing where I had entered the water. While driving home, I just couldn't help, but to think about the brutal, but glorious way mother nature had set up life's cycle. It is exhilarating. I hope you understand now why I let these critters go.  I am not a vegetarian, but I believe everything is good, in the proper balance. I hope you enjoyed reading this story. It is non fiction. It happened to me. :)

​PS; Immediately after writing this I went out back to change up the water for my birds. And down in the lower yard was a lone doe, eating my baby plums off the tree. Que Sera Sera