many different species , and protection from the elements for all sorts of creatures . The string of ponds as well as both fresh and salt-water marshes allow animals to thrive on Kiawah . Animals love “ edges ,” areas lush with growth , blessed with water , and full of edible delights . Kiawah is blessed with an abundance of edges and buffer zones . What we see on our Island today has taken almost half a century to evolve . This slow pace of development has been beneficial to wildlife . Animals are better at slow adaptation than they are at quick changes .
The food chain on Kiawah functions with remarkable interconnectedness . At the top of the mountain are the predators that live here : bobcats , alligators , and birds of prey . Such predators thrive because their prey also thrives . Giant live oaks drop acorns throughout the Island , providing food not only for bobcats , but for deer , raccoons , squirrels , and other animals as well . Varied plant life grows tall and thick , allowing these same animals to enjoy a healthy and diverse diet . As deer and other species thrive , bobcats have a more robust environment in which to live . Bobcats thin out deer herds by as much as half , targeting newborn fawns . While this may sound cruel , the presence of a healthy bobcat population is a sign of a healthy ecosystem . Years ago , including the time when deer hunting was still allowed on Kiawah , deer accidents on our roads were much more common than today . We can thank bobcats and , to a lesser degree , alligators for this reduced risk to human safety . The roughly 30 % of newborn deer that survive to adulthood is a sustainable number supported by the natural ecosystem .
Birds of prey , such as hawks , bald eagles , and ospreys , troll for fish in waterways abundant with life . The healthy aquatic environments are critical for these majestic animals to thrive . They also help with rodent control , even snagging the ubiquitous squirrel from time to time . The smaller predators , including raccoons , possums , and the aforementioned
squirrel serve a vital role in the food chain . Removing any of them from the system would have impacts elsewhere , likely not understood until after the fact .
If man were not present on Kiawah , the island would still be a largely undisturbed maritime forest . Wild animals would roam , plant life would be abundant , and the view of the Island from the ocean would be breathtaking . Before human intervention , bears traversed the Island , as did wolves . Were man not present today , the trees would be thicker and the overhead canopy much denser . The underneath plant and animal life would likely be more challenged because of the difficulty of sunshine penetrating the dense growth . That ’ s not to say one outcome is better than the other , instead that Kiawah ’ s ecosystem has adapted well to the inevitable changes that development has brought . In many ways , Kiawah today is a healthier environment for some species than had it been left undisturbed . The best example is deer , which find Kiawah a far more attractive habitat than it was 40 years ago .
Kiawah is unique in how much attention is given to environmental health . There are certainly other environmentally friendly island developments : Bald Island in North Carolina and Little St . Simons Island in Georgia for example , but almost none where more research is conducted . Time and money are expended to study our Island , to understand what particular indicator species tell us . Painted buntings and several varieties of marsh sparrows tell researchers a great deal about the health of our ecosystem . Understanding the pressures brought about in both natural and human-impacted ways allows Kiawah the opportunity to adjust when necessary for our continued long-term health . NK
Editor ’ s note : Special thanks to Jim Jordan , Town of Kiawah Island ’ s Wildlife Biologist , for his insights and direction in writing this article .
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