Kids dig animals
Keenum gives kids look at ‘Animals That Dig’
The 107 children that attended Wednesday’s summer reading program at the William Bradford Huie Library of Hartselle received a firsthand look at the wild critters that roam the residential neighborhoods of the city searching for food.
Chris Keenum, a vertebrate animal catcher, used pelts and skulls of some of the “Animals That Dig” to illustrate an 18-year experience of catching them in line with a business he and his wife Allyson operate.
“We catch and release or dispose of just about any kind of vertebrate you can think of, from squirrels and raccoons to coyotes and snakes,” Keenum told his audience. “Most of the these animals are native and can be seen in your backyard looking for cat or bird food or table scraps.
“They’ll eat anything and it’s not a good idea to leave food outside where they can reach it,” he pointed out.
He told the story of a Madison County family whose home was overrun by raccoons after they began feeding one of them cat food.
“At first, it was just one and the family got a kick watching it through a siding glass door pick up the food with its paws and eat it,” Keenum said. “Other raccoons found out about the food and pretty soon there were three, five and a yard full of raccoons, swimming in the family pool and begging for food.”
“Things had gotten out of hand when they called me for assistance,” he added. “We put out traps and within two weeks, we had captured 27 raccoons.”
Keenum showed the children pelts of animals he has captured in and around Hartselle over the years and described each one. They included a coyote, bobcat, beaver, red fox, otter, mink and opossum.
“I see coyotes everywhere I go,” he pointed out. “They have become urbanized and spend a lot of time scrounging for food in heavily populated neighborhoods. They’re dangerous predators and small household pets are not safe when they’re around. My advice is to stay away from them.”
Keenum said his favorite critter is the beaver because of its craftiness and ability to cut down large trees and work underwater.
“They can see underwater because they have transparent eyelids,” he pointed “and because they have very sharp, long teeth they can cut down a 6” to 8” circumference tree in 20 minutes.
“They’re very common in this area,” he added. “I’ve trapped them in Earth Park and have gotten them out of drain boxes inside the city limits.”
Keenum concluded his presentation by answering questions and letting the children examine up close his collection of pelts and skulls.
“Chris was one of our program speakers last year,” said librarian Emily Love. “The kids loved him and wanted to see him come back.”
“The “Dig into Reading” summer program will continue on Wednesdays through July 31. Next week’s program will be on “Dog Days of Summer.”
