A Tucson couple recently faced down a protective javelina mother so they could rescue her babies from the in-ground trash cans at their Foothills townhome development.
Now Greg Proctor and his wife, Jessica, are trying to get their homeowners association to do something about the unusual cans, which serve to both attract and trap wildlife in the area.
Javelinas are an almost nightly occurrence at La Casita Townhomes, just east of Catalina Foothills High School, near Swan Road and Sunrise Drive. Proctor said a herd of them usually wanders in from a nearby wash in search of landscaping to eat and garbage to get into.
Every townhome has two in-ground trash cans along the street, each smaller than a typical household garbage bin.
Some of the cans are covered with unsecured metal lids that the javelinas have learned to jar loose. Homeowners wake up the next morning to find their trash strewn all over their yards and street.
βWe also find mice, lizards and birdsβ that fall into the cans β and sometimes die β once theyβve been opened, Proctor said.
βWeβve always had the in-ground trash cans there, and weβve always had the same issues,β said Proctor, who moved back into the neighborhood early this year after living there as a kid. βItβs sad for the javelinas, and it could be dangerous for the residents.β
It certainly seemed that way late last month, when several newborn javelinas β known as reds because of their youthful, auburn hair β fell into the cans near the Proctorsβ house and couldnβt get back out.
Proctor thinks they may have been trapped there overnight.
Javelinas are often seen near the La Casita Townhomes development in the Catalina Foothills. In-ground trash cans in the area seem to attract wildlife as they scavenge for food, but they also can trap the animals if they fall in.
He saw the usual herd of javelinas on their street at about 11 p.m. Then Truffle, their Boston terrier, started barking at about 3 a.m., so Proctor went back outside to find a javelina by itself in front of the house.
The mother javelina was still there at about 7 a.m., when Jessica went out and heard cries and the sound of tiny hooves coming from a neighborβs trash can.
βWe were pretty sure what was going on, but I couldnβt get close enough to check it out,β Proctor said.
He grabbed a broom and tried to shoo the distressed mother away, but she put her hackles up and stood her ground. βShe made it clear that she wasnβt getting scared away by me and my broom,β he said.
After about a 10-minute standoff, the mother began to pace nervously, taking wide βstress lapsβ away from the trash cans, Proctor said.
That gave him the opening he needed. With Jessica and a neighbor standing watch to make sure mom didnβt come charging back, he ran over and emptied a pair of baby javelinas from one of the trash cans.
Javelinas are an almost nightly occurrence at La Casita Townhomes, just east of Catalina Foothills High School, near Swan Road and Sunrise Drive.
The two reds quickly ran to their mother, who greeted them with what looked like relief. βShe was definitely happy,β Proctor said. βHer butt was wagging as they all ran off.β
A short time later, though, the Proctors heard more plaintive sounds, this time coming from their neighborβs other trash can. Inside was a third trapped baby, and this one had been left behind.
Proctor freed the kitten-sized javelina, which he said he could have picked up with one hand.
After watching the baby wander aimlessly in front of their homes, the Proctors and their neighbor scooped it up in a box and tried to release it into the wash where the other javelinas had gone.
The little one wandered back to their street a short time later, still alone, so the neighbor gave it some water and took it into his small backyard, where it spent most of the day curled up asleep in a patch of flowers.
Then, when the rest of the herd showed up later that night, right on schedule, the neighbor opened his gate and the baby ran out to join them.
βIt was a wild day,β Proctor said.
He later posted about it on Nextdoor.com and got a huge response on the hyperlocal social networking site. A few of the commenters said they had similar in-ground trash cans — resulting in the same wildlife conflicts — in their Tucson-area developments.
Since then, Proctor has sent an email asking his HOA to do something about the problem. There has also been talk of circulating a neighborhood petition.
βWeβd love to get rid of the trash cans,β he said.
Short of that, he said, strong latches need to be placed on all existing cans to keep javelinas and other animals from opening them.
In-ground trash bins are not a problem the Arizona Game and Fish Department has had to deal with much, but agency spokesman Mark Hart said he can see how leaving garbage in a street-side can β even one thatβs underground β might attract animals.
βWe encourage people to put their trash bins out the day of pickup instead of the night before, because javelinas are adept at tipping them over, even the tall ones,β Hart said.
Putting locks of some kind on lids of the in-ground cans might be the best short-term solution, he said.
Oro Valley has seen four separate javelina attacks on people and their pets over the past month, including one incident in which a dog was killed.
The hoglike peccaries are not normally aggressive, but their curiosity and poor eyesight does occasionally bring them into close proximity to people.
They also tend to mistake dogs for predatory coyotes, and they have been known to charge at perceived threats, especially when they have babies in their care.
Proctor estimates that only about half of the built-in trash cans in his neighborhood have lids that lock, though it looks like more of the latches are now being installed.
The La Casita HOA has always been quick to respond to problems in the past, he said, and he has no reason to think this time will be any different.
βI suspect something will be done. I just donβt know what that will be yet,β Proctor said.
