Javelinas on the Trail

Recently I wrote a trail guide for Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. Writing a trail guide, I have discovered, can be as much or more involved as writing an article. But the challenge is rewarding, as well as educational.P1050520

Each stop for the trail must be researched and written succinctly to fit in limited space. Each stop must include enough information to educate the visitor and perhaps entice them to explore other resources. And each stop must have relevance to a certain object or point.

One Aspect

But writing the trail guide was only one aspect of creating and maintaining this trail. Other volunteers used weed whackers, rakes, and clippers to render the trail more accessible. Then each stop needed to be numbered to correspond to the number in the guide.

Chuck’s Part

That’s where Chuck came in, with the help of our Visitor Services Manager, Dan Peterson. Originally Chuck suggested painting large rocks white, followed by painting a black number on each using a stencil. But rocks can be kicked aside and are not uniform in design.

“How about using these metal signs?” Dan suggested, holding up a small black sign attached to a stake. And then he opened an envelope filled with thick yellow wooden numbers. “You can glue these numbers on them.”

What a great idea! we thought. Chuck gathered up nine of the small metal signs and gave them a fresh spray of black paint. After they dried, he plugged in the glue gun. When it was heated, he spread glue onto a number and pushed it against the sign. We took a few minutes to admire his work before he proceeded with the rest of the numbers.

Placing the Signs

The next day, after the glue had dried sufficiently, we roved the trail, placing the numbered signs in their appropriate spots. Dan had earlier placed rock cairns in some of the sites, and because they provided an additional visual aid to help visitors locate each stop, we built cairns in each remaining site.

“That’s that!” we proclaimed proudly. But it wasn’t to be.

Checking our Work

A day or two later, we walked the trail again to check up on our work. The number “one” beamed back at us as we passed by, knowing that visitors would appreciate our beautiful wooden numbers that emerged in 3D from each sign.

But at the second number, we noticed something was missing. The sign was empty! Looking around, we located the “two” lying a couple feet away. “Maybe it slid off in the hot sun,” I said hopefully. All we needed to do was re-glue it. But when we arrived at the third stop, number “three” was missing, as well.

Javelina
Javelina

As we passed the remaining stops, each was missing its number. While we found several of them lying on the ground close by, the number “seven” was totally missing, and the metal sign it had been attached to was bent at a 90 degree angle. “Visitors wouldn’t do this,” I said. Then we inspected the wooden numbers we had collected from the ground and discovered pieces had been chipped from them.

Javelinas!

Walking back along the trail, we discovered tracks from javelinas; later when we inspected a skull of a javelina, it was evident that the front teeth would be perfect for nipping the numbers from the signs. “They must have been attracted by the glue,” Chuck said.

After collecting the signs and fixing the bent one, Chuck gathered stencils and painted numbers on the signs. Although the new numbers are not as dynamic as the bold wooden numbers, at least they have not attracted any more wildlife!

[twocol_one]

Nibbled Numbers
Nibbled Numbers

[/twocol_one] [twocol_one_last]

Final Painted Sign
Final Painted Sign

[/twocol_one_last]

[twocol_one]

Javelina Skull
Javelina Skull

[/twocol_one] [twocol_one_last]

Teeth for Nipping Numbers
Teeth for Nipping Numbers

[/twocol_one_last]

 

6 thoughts on “Javelinas on the Trail”

  1. I want u to know I love your info , I love snakes and finding thru the years I am loving snake info more than most! Forward!!! Thanx!!

    Reply
    • Thanks, Jeanne! Sometimes it’s a rat race…..and the rats are winning! There’s a passel of promiscuous porkers down here and it’s a challenge to keep them from chewing furniture, vegetation and almost anything within reach!

      Reply
  2. This is a GAS!!!! I love these guys…they do this “piggy pranking” just to make us notice them, don’t you know! They do things like this at our house in Anthem…and on our golf courses up here, too! This was a MOST entertaining article, Betty…you and Chuck have got to take a moment and have a good laugh…and as you know from grade school, glue tastes GREAT! Thanks for sharing this!
    Sue

    Reply
    • Thanks, Sue! One of the challenges of living in the desert southwest, I guess. The smell of the glue proved to be their downfall. That’s what we get for buying into the “Free Porky!” movement! Lousy promiscuous, pushy, pugnacious and pushy porkers! Gimmee a break!

      Reply

Leave a Comment