Same information leads to different conclusions

It’s interesting how two people with the same interests and having the same information conclude differently as does Marlene Condon (“Depredation study was misrepresented,” Aug. 21) to my recent letter regarding quail.
I attended a Department of Game and Inland Fisheries tour of a farm where officials had installed cameras on quail nests, and I repeat that the group was told that 90 percent of the eggs were destroyed by skunks, raccoons and opossums. Other predators were feral cats, foxes, weasels and crows. Even a groundhog ate quail eggs.
Condon took issue with my large-predator statements. Predators go by the rule that if it’s smaller and can be caught, eat it; if it’s larger, run. True, large predators ate deer, but as protein has the highest food value of all, protein is high on the list. Bears are omnivorous, eating anything edible, even large quantities of insects. Bald eagles eat fish but also any small animal. Check residents of Highland County. The golden eagle will even attack deer.
Condon and I agree that habitat is a serious and fundamental problem in its many forms. Raccoons, skunks and opossums have easier access to ground-nesting birds and animals due to farming practices. Skunks have few enemies outside large owls who snatch them into the air. They can eject scent only when their feet are on the ground. Opossums are very difficult to kill. Coons, which are large enough and capable of defending themselves against all comers, are at home in the trees and water and can use their front paws like hands. Their numbers are increasing due to less hunting.
Although a hunter, I don’t kill indiscriminately, even insects. If you equate road area to land area you’ll see that automobiles have a small affect on predator numbers.
Corbin Dixon
Staunton