Animals. They are taking over.

As explained in our feature cover story this week, rats arrived in the Okanagan several years ago and have grown into a serious pest, giving homeowners a case of the creeps.

They destroy everything in their path, they love to chew wires, and if they get inside your house鈥�.well that鈥檚 just terrible.

But not all rats are bad. They actually make great pets. You can even teach them tricks. However it does take some gumption to get past their creepiness.

But seriously, (sort of), rats are the latest in a long line of critters that seem to be growing, right along with the population of the Central Okanagan.

We鈥檝e got deer on the run in various areas, we鈥檝e got a moose on the loose in West 琉璃神社, we鈥檝e got invasive squirrels all over the place, we鈥檝e got Canada geese that are now being shot and killed by conservation guys (serious) and we (well one person in our office) has serious ant problems.

We used to have bunnies鈥�.but that鈥檚 another story for another time.

The fact is, it鈥檚 an animals鈥� world and we鈥檙e just living in it.

We鈥檝e (not us) built the greatest middle size city in the world (not our words) right in the middle of a forest and we can鈥檛 stop complaining about the animals that are also here.

Deer are eating the bushes? Time for a cull. Carp have invaded the lake? Let鈥檚 take em out. Canada geese, you say? Off with their heads!

In today鈥檚 world there just doesn鈥檛 seem to be a real answer for a lot of these issues. Can we live as one with the animals? Can we learn to train rats to herd squirrels and keep ants out of the house?

What are we going to do with all of these invasive species, including us! We might have been the last to arrive on this land. Deer and moose and all variety of animals were here before us.

So as we continue to build this mid-sized city, with its massive sky scraper soon to be throwing shade into the downtown area, it鈥檚 best we become one with the rats. Accept them for who they are.

At least they aren鈥檛 running for council. Not yet anyhow.

To report a typo, email: edit@kelownacapnews.com.

kparnell@kelownacapnews.com
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