What is Wild?

[Mr. Zootycoon]

I don't think a single escaped individual can be counted as wild, particularly if they haven't even left the grounds of the zoo! If they're from a naturalised population that is at least attempting to breed (whether escaped or reintroduced) then that would be different.

I generally use the rule that only established exotic or otherwise introduced populations count*. The problem with that system is the term "established", because that not aways clear. I count Dutch Nile geese, Rose-ringed parakeets and Pheasants because they have been living in the wild for generations. The "official" Dutch list doesn't count any introduced species except Canada geese and Ruddy shelduck for some reason (although the populations of the latter appearently may have some genuinely wild ancestors).

How about this case:
The National Park Hoge Veluwe (one of the larger Dutch reserves) has population of (re)introduced deer, mouflon and wild boar, and is fully enclosed but covers 5400 hectares. The deer can jump over the fences but the mouflons and boars can't. For the boars there are special gates, but they are now closed to inhibit the spreading of diseases, although a large number of boars probably won't notice it at all. The animals have to survive on their own, but are sometimes lured to certain areas for counting with some food. The numbers are controlled. Are these animals wild? According to the definition of @Kakapo, the neighbour's poodle in the example @Chlidonias gave is more wild than the boars and mouflons in this example, which to me is complete madness!

* Although I would not count animals like konik horses or cattle introduced to graze in a nature reserve, even if they have been living there for generations. It just doesn't feel right.

 

[FBBird]

Wild??? I was absolutely livid.....

That's a quote from a certain gorilla sketch unless I'm much mistaken. Good call.

 

[FBBird]

But presumably pinioned, so still controlled?

Ok, they can't fly, but are pretty nimble on their feet.

 

[FBBird]

Were your neighbours wild too?

It's a block of flats, I don't think the residents noticed, but their gardening team had walked the geese home by the time I got there (we don't live in a flat, neither do the geese).

 

[Jurek7]

1. Not wild
2. Not wild

You can personally count everything. However, in the first case, there are rules of twitching of birds by various birding organizations, and none allows twitching a bird temporarily in captivity as a wild one.

In the second case, enclosed 34km2 area is much too small to support natural population of rhinos. There may be 5 or maybe even 20 rhinos, but they would have to be managed. At the same time, if a wild rhino from Kruger wandered in by itself, it would be wild. And a small animal in a 34km2 area should be wild.

In some cases it may be more difficult. For example when a population of free-living animals contains a mix of wild and released individuals. But in this case it is pretty clear.

 

[ZooFuss]

Thanks for the feedback. Sadly, as much as we would like to add these sightings to our lists we also feel it would be cheating. Had we seen the bird wrapped in a blanket when someone found it or to be there as it flew away upon release then we would say wild. Certainly the bird is still wild in the unconditioned to humans sense and would resume its wild ways upon release, but we did not see it in the wild.
As for the rhinos we researched further and the reserve does exchange animals with other reserves which makes it even more zoo-like. As much as the rhinos were surrounded by the same vegetation, same snakes, birds and insects and breathing the same air as their Kruger friends on the other side of the fence, we still say not wild. The smaller space also makes it more difficult as Jurek7 says and we do not really know how much the reserve interferes with the animals fending for themselves.
Again even though the rhino behaved the same as animals inside Kruger National Park - Stopped what it was doing, gave us a look and wandered off into the bush. Kruger would be wild for us but this reserve was not. It was still a great experience but we will have to settle for seeing the wildest rhino we have ever seen or at least a truly African one.

 

[Kakapo]

What if the poodle is on its leash outside her yard, tied to the gatepost, and you run up and cut the leash. Is it then suddenly a wild dog?

What if your goldfish jumps out of its bowl? Wild fish?

There is a popular phrasing in Spain for what you do, it's said "put the points over the I characters". Particulally when the letter I is capital and don't need a point. Well, you are more looking if the point over the I is perfectly rounded or have some microscopic notch

But even then I will reply to these (retoric?) questions because I certainly appreciate you . I would not considere the dog as wild as the fact of being suddenly free was my decision and not the dog's decision. And obviously a fish that jumped out of the container that hold it (bowl, aquarium or garden pond) is not wild unless it falls in a lake, stream or whatever other natural water body where it can go where he wants...

 

[TeaLovingDave]

I also wouldn't count the chipmunks at Wuppertal either - I can see why you might, but for me it doesn't feel right. If they were to spread significantly beyond the zoo I probably would count them, though only if I saw them away from the zoo.

Of course, this is one of the more borderline cases - given the fact that they a) have been breeding in a self-sustaining fashion and with no additional introductions since the 1960's and b) are indeed present in the wider city (although still very much concentrated within the zoo) I personally do count the individual I saw earlier this year as a wild lifetick

 

[ThylacineAlive]

How about this case:
The National Park Hoge Veluwe (one of the larger Dutch reserves) has population of (re)introduced deer, mouflon and wild boar, and is fully enclosed but covers 5400 hectares. The deer can jump over the fences but the mouflons and boars can't. For the boars there are special gates, but they are now closed to inhibit the spreading of diseases, although a large number of boars probably won't notice it at all. The animals have to survive on their own, but are sometimes lured to certain areas for counting with some food. The numbers are controlled. Are these animals wild? According to the definition of @Kakapo, the neighbour's poodle in the example @Chlidonias gave is more wild than the boars and mouflons in this example, which to me is complete madness!

This is an excellent example. Conversely, what about all those UK Red Deer farms (or the herd at HWP)? They are managed herds and are often times stocked initially, but they can hop the fences if they want to and theoretically mingle/breed with any wild deer in the area. In HWP's case I've heard that true wild deer sometimes even join the captive deer and become part of the zoo stock. Are these wild or captive? To me, these are very clearly captive and the collections' themselves would agree, but following @Kakapo's standards they would either all be wild or captive when within the fences but wild when outside of them.

Now what if you have an island that's protected, and to protect the wildlife there a fence was built around the perimeter. Non-flying animals can't get over the fence, so what then? Or what about a highly endangered species that lives wild (feeds itself, interacts with other animals, etc.) in a protected forest during the day, but at night it returns to a captive center since it's part of a managed population, is it not wild? How about the fact that the Smithsonian National Zoo either has or recently ended a program where, to prep Golden Lion Tamarins for potential reintroduction into the wild, the monkeys would be released into a forested section of the zoo. These animals lived freely but were still owned and cared for by the zoo, but could run all the way to the White House if they really wanted, are they wild or captive during this training period? And how about peafowl and guineafowl that many, many zoos keep free-roaming on-site? They live without barriers, they breed wild, they feed themselves at least partially, and theoretically they could leave the zoo if they really wanted to (anyone remember when a Green Peafowl ended up on someone's balcony outside Central Park?), but they are considered part of the zoos' collection. Wild?

For the record when I visited Faunia at the end of August there were no signs of a free-living magpie-jay..

~Thylo

 

[ThylacineAlive]

But even then I will reply to these (retoric?) questions because I certainly appreciate you . I would not considere the dog as wild as the fact of being suddenly free was my decision and not the dog's decision. And obviously a fish that jumped out of the container that hold it (bowl, aquarium or garden pond) is not wild unless it falls in a lake, stream or whatever other natural water body where it can go where he wants...

Yeah and your neighbor's poodle running freely down the road can just as likely be your neighbor's decision as it is their dog's. Their owner will have made the decision to let the animal outside, likely knowing that there are no barriers to contain the dog to the property and it could leave it if wanted. My family's dog has left out property a few times under this exact circumstance, but I would highly doubt that even the dog (if it could think such things) would consider itself wild.

There's a dog park in my hometown that's set in a wooded area, and people let their dogs run free there. There's no fence to contain them and they can go wherever they want, including across the river which is then a nature preserve. I have seen dogs both in the river and successfully swim to the other side (the river is not wide or strong in this area). This was their choice, so are they wild?

As for the fish, what if it landed in a man-made body of water but still had to fend for itself and could go wherever it wanted within the body of water? Does the size matter? Like a fish landing in a man-made lake is fine but it landed in a large pond is not? What about stocked fish populations? There are plenty of lakes and rivers that are stocked yearly (or every so often) so that the populations aren't hurt by fishermen. Sometimes the species list includes invasive species that have long been introduced. How do these fair? Beardsley Zoo released captive born and raised Brook Trout into the wild every year to help bolster the wild population, if you found one of these living freely would they not count? If they wouldn't in a pond why would they in a river?

~Thylo

 

[TeaLovingDave]

the monkeys would be released into a forested section of the zoo. These animals lived freely but were still owned and cared for by the zoo, but could run all the way to the White House if they really wanted, are they wild or captive during this training period?

I'm fairly sure an oversized golden lion tamarin has managed to make residence there right now

 

[Maguari]

Of course, this is one of the more borderline cases - given the fact that they a) have been breeding in a self-sustaining fashion and with no additional introductions since the 1960's and b) are indeed present in the wider city (although still very much concentrated within the zoo) I personally do count the individual I saw earlier this year as a wild lifetick

Yeah, it's a close one, but for me if it's still inside the zoo it feels wrong to count it as wild in most cases. I don't count muntjac/water deer within either Whipsnade or Woburn Deer Park for the same reason, despite the latter in particular being essentially part of the wild population derived from them. An exception would be the reintroduced storks at Planckendael, some of which migrate as intended but some of which can't be bothered!

There is a pleasing case of the deer park quandary in South Derbyshire, where Calke Abbey's fully enclosed and managed deer park features Fallow Deer derived from the local wild population, which is turn believed to be derived from a much earlier deer park that had fallen out of use..!

 

[Birdlover]

I think a distinction between a truly wild animal and an animal seen in the wild needs to be made. For example, a single tropical fish seen in a pond I would not consider a wild animal, but it was seen in the wild. As for the example of the rhinos at first, I would have said wild but after reading later posts its more fuzzy, semi-wild may best describe them. Actually for many of these managed populations, semi-wild may be the best way to describe them. Lets face facts is there actually any truly wild rhinos left in Africa?

 

[ZooFuss]

We have heard the term semi-wild used for some animals and it does seem appropriate for these rhinos.
In Dartmoor, England the ponies are often referred to as semi-wild. Choosing between Zoo or Wild, we have classed them as wild for our purposes since they don't appear to be enclosed by any fences etc. To our knowledge they fend for themselves all year and no animals are introduced into the population, just sold and exported out of it. People do claim ownership of the ponies but we do not know if they interfere with breeding etc.
Also as far as fish, in Toronto there are ponds which contain released pet goldfish. These have survived there for many years and breed, feed themselves and survive year round, even the cold winters. Knowing this fact we consider them now wild (or feral goldfish?). If we didn't we might think that they were ornamental and replaced each season or dumped there as an unwanted pets until they freeze to death in the ice. Actually they are invasive and compete with the local frogs, turtles, other small fish etc.

 

[Jurek7]

we do not really know how much the reserve interferes with the animals fending for themselves.

This particular piece is easy to get - simply ask the reserve!

I don't count feral domestic animals (konik horses, assorted cattle, sheep, ducks, doves etc) because that would make them equal to the wild form. Is seeing a stray dog equal to seeing a Gray Wolf? Is seeing a stray cat equal of seeing a Wildcat? Laughable idea, even if many populations of feral dogs and cats live as wild animals. Therefore I don't count any feral animals. I thought about Mufflon, which in Europe is regarded as a wild animal, and species which original wild form is extinct (cattle and Dromedary camels) but for consistency don't do it.