The Dakota winter

Dakota County, skiers and zoo animals dig the cold

BY MARICELLA MIRANDA
Pioneer Press



About an inch more of snow piled down on Dakota County cities this morning, adding to the 10-plus inches already on the ground.
All public and private schools closed for the continuing storm, but many businesses in the area remained open for snow-day shoppers, including Burnsville Center and grocery stores.
Snow-loving animals, like the Amur tigers, Mexican wolves, and woodland caribou, frolicked in the blizzard at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, said zoo spokeswoman Kelly Lessard. Only the meerkats close their outdoor summer exhibit to spend the winter inside.
The zoo wasn't sure if the winter wonderland attracted more people than usual. But at Burnsville's Buck Hill ski slope, 1,000 people had arrived by noon, said Don McCleure, general manager at Buck Hill. On a normal Friday, about 250 people would show up. Twenty extra staff members were called to duty in anticipation of the rush.
With no school, Cheryl Johnson of Lakeville, a ski instructor at Buck Hill, had plenty to do as students lined up for lessons. The mom of four brought her children along to work. "I came to see if there was a need" for me to come to work, Johnson said. She quickly learned there was.
By the end of the day, McCleure expected about 2,000 people would be skiing, tubing or snowboarding at Buck Hill. "This is winter," he said. "It's a little late but it's here."

wild animals create problems

- Wild animals create problems in residential areas
by Jill Cornett, Frontier Heritage CommunitiesPublished: Thursday, March 1, 2007 4:35



As the weather warms and creatures awake from winter sleep, Frontier Heritage Communities is gearing up for calls to remove wild animals from residential areas.FHC pest contractor Hal Myers warns that March and April will bring out skunks and raccoons that were inactive during the cold weeks of February. While these animals don't actually hibernate, they do burrow into dens and sleep hard when temperatures are below freezing."Around March, the skunks begin their mating season," Myers said. "And there are lots of skunks on Fort Leavenworth."
Skunks, raccoons and opossums are very clever animals when seeking food. They are omnivorous, eating plants and small animals like frogs and insects. Garbage, pet dishes and vegetable gardens provide fast food for wild mammals, enticing them to approach homes.Most recently, squirrels have been the focus of FHC pest removal efforts. Residents reported finding them in attics, bedrooms and the engine compartments of cars.In the wild, squirrels eat fruits, nuts, seeds, plant bulbs and occasionally bird eggs or hatchlings. Myers believes that new construction around the post is disturbing some animal habitats, driving squirrels deeper into the neighborhoods.
"They're hungry," Myers said, "and right now they'll eat almost anything."In residential areas squirrels are drawn to bird feeders, pet food dishes, spilled food and, strangely, automobile wires. FHC has received several reports of squirrels eating through the wiring of parked cars. Initially, maintenance crews were baffled by this behavior, but found the Web site www.squirrelsatemywiring.com, which described incidents of wire-eating well beyond the borders of Kansas.Originally, Myers believed squirrels were chiefly attracted to Fords because the company uses a soy-based oil to coat engine wires. But bloggers suggest squirrels will consume wiring from many makes of automobiles.
Myers is currently trapping squirrels and relocating them to areas north of the Missouri River."You've got to haul them at least 10 miles from where you trapped them, so they don't come back," he said.It is impossible to eliminate wildlife from residential areas, particularly this close to the Missouri River. Myers said it is fortunate that mice and rats have not been an issue, because their natural habitats include nearby fields, woods and rivers.
While many wild creatures are cute and fun to observe, they are best left alone. This can be a challenge when they are eating out of trash cans and finding their way into homes. FHC recommends the following to keep them at bay:
Do not feed wild animals, including birds and squirrels. Although many people enjoy watching birds flock around a backyard feeder, seeds that fall to the ground attracts squirrels and other small mammals.

Do not leave pet food or dishes outdoors.
Close ground-floor windows at night. Raccoons are known to tear open screens to get to pet food inside.
Do not place garbage outside until the morning of a scheduled trash pickup. (Residents are permitted to place garbage on the curb the night before pickup, but it can attract wild animals.)
Use a repellent to discourage squirrels