Enjoy Mississippi fall outdoors, but watch for wildlife Published Sept. 16, 2015 By Mike Jago Environmental Chief COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Fall in Mississippi is excellent. Gone are the oppressive, muggy days of summer that suck the life out of you as soon as you leave the safety of air conditioning. It is time to get outside. Clean up the yard, go canoeing, hike or camp! But while you're enjoying the fresh air, remember that other Mississippi "residents" are too. The summer has been hot so trails and parks haven't seen a lot of activity. This has left the animals to run the place. The good news is this makes most creatures very cautious of people and they hide long before people approach them. The bad news is this makes some critters careless as they don't seem to know what a threat people are to them. Skunks are a great example. On Columbus AFB, the running track was a wonderful nursery to several litters of baby skunks this summer. Every early morning the skunks were out, and so were several runners. There were reports of skunks running with the runners. Thankfully, no one had a bad incident! Entomology set traps and relocated them to the woods where they have stayed so far. Skunks are playful, cat-like and eat dead stuff. If there is a disease or rabies breakout in the area, skunks will get it next. Skunks are not a threat as long as they are looking at you with their tail down. Don't try to pet the skunks or startle them and you can observe them safely. A healthy skunk will not approach or charge, but a rabid one will. Last fall as the evening was cooling, an orange corn snake was sunning itself on Perimeter Road. These are easily mistaken for copperhead snakes, but they are shy and just want to be ignored. Snakes are a big part of the eco system of Mississippi. If not for them we would be overrun with mice, squirrels, skunks and other rodents. Deer like the sweet, well-manicured grass of the golf course. It is not unusual to see small herds of deer in the early morning or evening, traveling through housing to their dining area. Deer have lousy vision, easily over-estimate their own skills, and think they are safe no matter what they do. They overly rely on their sense of hearing and smell, which is excellent, to warn them of approaching predators. However, this leaves them vulnerable to human activities, since they don't smell vehicles coming and may not hear them in time. Deer are a hazard to automobiles, hikers, hunters and cyclists. Deer are such a hazard to aircraft they have their own acronym: DASH, which stands for deer/aircraft safety hazard. Impacting a deer will ruin the propeller, collapse landing gear or make a real mess of a jet. And yes, it happens on the taxiway and runway, as most deer can't fly. Fall is the time beavers get busy. They will be making dams, building lodges, and storing food for winter. As you hike, bike and camp around Mississippi and on base, beaver can be seen cutting trees, climbing trees (who knew?), and of course building dams. Beaver have been known to try to build in the airfield drains, dam the base streams and drainage ditches, and basically be a nuisance. Beaver dams are not built well enough to walk on and beaver-related injuries are usually from falling through the dam and getting stuck or cut by a branch. However, people that stick to trails should have no worries. Beavers don't attack and generally flee to the safety of the water when danger approaches. Beavers can be destructive to property but aren't a danger to watch. There is a small potential to meet bears in Mississippi. These are not grizzly bears, they are black bears. Occasionally one will get curious or hungry and get close enough to observe. There has never been a reported attack from this type of bear, but there have been collisions with them when they spook and run blindly away. A cyclist at Hurlburt Field in Northwest Florida was run over twice by fleeing black bears. He had road rash but no injuries from the bear. So go out, canoe or do some yard work. Hike Columbus AFB's nature trail. Fear not the snakes, skunks and bears. Ticks, wolf spiders and mosquitoes are another story for later.