Hungry Wildlife

A lone Coyote on the towpath trail warily looks at the photographer. — As opportunistic hunters, coyotes are usually active near dawn or dusk but can adapt their schedule to avoid disturbances.
©R. Belkin

Pair of deer look at the photographer while standing in the snow in winter. — With a lack of predators, deer are frequently seen gazing in farm fields.
©Cheryl Osgood

Like all farmers, those in the Cuyahoga Valley face challenges from wildlife. Deer, raccoons, coyotes, and other animals affect crops and livestock.

More than any other wild animal, deer threaten most crops, eating vegetables before they have a chance to fully grow. Within the last half century, the deer population has grown dramatically, creating more pressure on those who make a living off the land.

Hawks and Racoons

2011 Oral History Project: Alan Halko, who operates Spring Hill Farm and Market in Brecksville, talks about how hawks and raccoons threaten his chickens.

Credit / Author:

Alan Halko

Audio Transcript

“Predation, for one thing, is uh . . . You know, we have a lot of hawk uh, a lot of hawks there. And certain times of the year they like to get chickens. So . . . ~laughs~ And raccoons. I’ve had raccoons wipe out twenty chickens in one night. The hawks take ‘em randomly here and there, usually in the colder weather.”

Deer Problems

2011 Oral History Project: Gerald and Marilyn Polcen, who no longer farm in the valley due to the rising deer population, talk about a creative method for warding off deer from their fields.

Credit / Author:

Gerald and Marilyn Polcen

Audio Transcript

Marilyn: “There was land that you could plant, but, you know, it doesn’t pay to fence it. Fencin’ costs a lot of money, and these deer are very creative. They’ll crawl under fences, they’ll jump over ‘em . . .”
Gerald: “I don’t know if you’ve heard that before from any farmers, but it’s a big problem. I tell ya, I used to . . . we have a pickup truck camper . . . in Brecksville, when I was farmin’ over there, growin’ corn over there, used to take the truck and camper in the middle of the field, take my half Lab and half Golden Retriever (she’d sleep with me). I would get up every half hour, shine a light and if we seen the deer, I’d just say ‘Sam-sam, go get ‘em.’ It would . . . she would go out, just run the deer into the woods, turn right around, come back, get back in the camper, we’d go to sleep again. I mean, great dog.”

More Deer

2011 Oral History Project: Carl Boodey describes how the large deer population has affected the valley landscape and contributed to tree loss.

Credit / Author:

Carl Boodey

Audio Transcript

“You cannot farm in the valley no more with the deer. Only thing you can do is like the goats, or graze stuff, but the deer just eat everything up. I did see the woods change a lot. The deer ate lot of the foliage out and about. It’s hard. No new trees. The trees . . . I lived right across from a big woods on Hines Hill. The trees would get up two years old, about a foot, and they’d eat ‘em right to the ground.”